Aarhus University Park

Aarhus University Park represents a unique encounter between Danish modernist architecture and sensitive landscape adaptation. Based on the original 1931 masterplan, where architecture and topography are interwoven into a single and consistent concept, the park has become an icon of Danish cultural heritage. The geometric precision of the buildings, integrated into the park’s living topography of trees, streams, and expansive lawns, together form a robustlandscape architectural work that for nearly a century has accommodated change without losing its identity.

A strategic plan has now been prepared for the university, formulating key recommendations for management, preservation, and transformation. The plan addresses the fundamental duality: on the one hand, securing the artistic integrity of the park, and on the other, encouraging new uses that reflect the university’s development as an international knowledge environment.

The strategy rests on three thematic pillars. First, cultural heritage: an explicit recognition of the park’s status as a nationally significant site. Second, sustainability and management: integrating climate adaptation, biodiversity, and long-term stewardship into the park’s structure. Third, community: a conscious emphasis on the daily presence of its many users and their interaction with the landscape.

In this way, a framework is created which ensures that the park’s development is not understood as static preservation, but as a dynamic process with operational management as a key tool. The University Park continues its role as a living cultural heritage – a place where landscape art, architecture, and human activity unfold together in a balanced interplay.

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