Nationality Danish Role Author | Name Carl Sorensen | |
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Full Name Soren Carl Theodor Marius Sorensen Born 24 July 1893 ( 1893-07-24 ) Altona, Hamburg, Germany Occupation Landscape architectAuthor Died September 12, 1979, Copenhagen, Denmark | ||
Soren Carl Theodor Marius Sorensen (24 July 1893 in Altona, Hamburg, Germany – 12 September 1979 in Copenhagen, Denmark) was a Danish landscape architect who is considered to be one of the greatest landscape architects of the 20th century. A contemporary of Thomas Church, Geoffrey Jellicoe and Luis Barragan he was a leading figure in the first generation of Modernists in landscape design.
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Sorensen was a prolific author producing eight books, editing two volumes and writing hundreds of articles. Only one short book was translated into English and another into German and Dutch. His books covered open space in urban life, horticulture, the history of garden art, principles of garden design, education and autobiography.
Sorensen worked with Copenhagen schoolteacher Hans Dragehjelm (1875-1948) on the first ever adventure playground in Emdrup, a district of the Danish capital Copenhagen in 1940. Photos from the time show children playing with bricks, digging in the mud and building dens with wood and nails. In his book Parkipolitik i Sogn og Kobstad (Park Politics in the parish and market town), Sorensen stated his belief that "children's playgrounds are the city's most important form of public plantation". He believed children needed sun and open space to play in and hated the trend for dark, shady courtyards as play spaces. He called them skrammellegepladser ("junk playgrounds").
His designs reflected the Modernist movement and include strong geometric shapes and graceful landforms.
Major Projects
