Early life and education

Ole Falkentorp was born into a family of architects on 18 February 1886 in Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

. His father was Albert Jensen, architect, professor and Royal Building Inspector, and his mother Sophie Jensen née Nebelong, daughter of the architect Niels Sigfred Nebelong

Niels Sigfred Nebelong

Niels Sigfred Nebelong was a Danish architect who worked in the Historicist style. He was city architect in Copenhagen from 1863 and also designed many lighthouses around Denmark in his capacity as resident architect for the Danish lighthouse authority.-Early life and education:Niels Sigfred...

. He changed his name to Falkentorp in 1899.

He was enrolled at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, where Historicism

Historicism (art)

Historicism refers to artistic styles that draw their inspiration from copying historic styles or artisans. After neo-classicism, which could itself be considered a historicist movement, the 19th century saw a new historicist phase marked by a return to a more ancient classicism, in particular in...

 still dominated and his father was a central figure, but left shortly after. Instead he took classes at a technical school and apprenticed as a mason.

He was then articled to Heinrich Wenck

Heinrich Wenck

Heinrich Emil Charles Wenck was a Danish architect, known for the numerous railway stations he designed in his capacity of chief architect for the Danish State Railways from 1894 to 1921...

, head of the architectural office of the Danish State Railways. There he met Carl Petersen

Carl Petersen

Carl Petersen was a Danish politician, representing the Social Democratic Party in Parliament . He served as Minister for Public Works in 1945, Traffic Minister from 1947 to 1950 and again from 1953 to 1955, Minister for Agriculture in 1950, and Interior Minister of Denmark from 30 August 1955 to...

 and Povl Baumann

Povl Baumann

Povl Erik Raimund Baumann was a Danish architect who was a central figure during the transition from Neoclassicism to Functionalism in Danish residential architecture...

 with whom he would later collaborate on several projects.

Falkentorp's architectural expression moved from Neoclassicism

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

 through Modernism

Modern architecture

Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

 to Functionalism

Functionalism

Functionalism may refer to:* Functionalism , or structural functionalism, a theoretical tradition within sociology and anthropology* Functionalism * Functionalism...

.

Important works, all in Copenhagen, include the Classen Have housing development (1924, with Carl Petersen and Paul Baumann), the office building at the North Port (1930-32, together with Paul Baumann), the Ved Vesterport office building (1930-32, with Povl Baumann) and the Hotel Astoria (1935) next to Copenhagen Central Station.

In 1911, Falkentorp was a co-founder and dedicated debating member of Den Frie Arkitektforening, an alternative architecture association.

Selected works

• Classens Have residential building (1924, with Carl Petersen
  Carl Petersen
  Carl Petersen was a Danish politician, representing the Social Democratic Party in Parliament . He served as Minister for Public Works in 1945, Traffic Minister from 1947 to 1950 and again from 1953 to 1955, Minister for Agriculture in 1950, and Interior Minister of Denmark from 30 August 1955 to...
  
   and Povl Baumann
  Povl Baumann
  Povl Erik Raimund Baumann was a Danish architect who was a central figure during the transition from Neoclassicism to Functionalism in Danish residential architecture...
  
  )
• Ved Vesterport office building, Vesterbrogade
  Vesterbrogade
  Vesterbrogade is the main shopping street of the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends west for 1.5 km from the Rådhuspladsen along the municipal border with Frederiksberg to Pile Allé where it turns into Roskildevej...
  
  , Copenhagen (1930-32, with Povl Baumann
  Povl Baumann
  Povl Erik Raimund Baumann was a Danish architect who was a central figure during the transition from Neoclassicism to Functionalism in Danish residential architecture...
  
  
• Hotel Astoria
  Hotel Astoria (Copenhagen)
  Hotel Astoria is a design hotel located next to the Central Station in Copenhagen, Denmark. The building is an early example of Functionalist architecture in Denmark.-History:...
  
  , Banegårdspladsen, Copenhagen (1934-35)
• Hornbæk Badehotel, Hornbæk
  Hornbæk
  Hornbæk is a seaside resort town on the north coast of the Danish island of Zealand, facing the Øresund which separates Denmark from Sweden. It is part of Helsingør Municipality and is located 12 km north-west of Elsinore, and is mainly known for its mundane holiday homes and broad sandy beaches.As...
  
   (1934-35)
• Hotel Codan, Sankt Annæ Plads
  Sankt Annæ Plads
  Sankt Annæ Plads is a public square which marks the border between the Nyhavn area and the Frederiksstaden district in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a long narrow rectangle which extends inland from the waterfront, at a point just north of the Royal Danish Playhouse at the base of the Kvæsthusbroen...
  
  , Copenhagen (1948-50, with Ole Buhl and Harald Petersen)