Did you know Copenhagen Airport’s 1939 terminal beat Arne Jacobsen in its design competition?

Copenhagen Airport’s old terminal, built in 1939, won its design tender in competition with Arne Jacobsen, one of Denmark’s best-known architects, according to an article in Connect, the magazine published by the airport operator. The building was later named after its architect, Vilhelm Lauritzen, and is known today as the VL-Terminal.

Lauritzen completed his architectural training in 1921 and founded his own practice a year later. He remained active in the firm until 1969 and died in 1984, aged 90. The magazine describes the terminal as one of Europe’s earliest and most striking modernist buildings and highlights its ceiling of 12,500 masonite panels, which curves through the old arrivals and departures hall.

The building is now protected. Writing in 2019, the year of the terminal’s 80th anniversary, the airport said it functions mainly as the royal VIP terminal used for visiting heads of state, while also hosting training for the airport’s security staff and internal events.

Because it is used mainly for state visits and internal purposes, the VL-Terminal is not a building passengers should expect to pass through on an ordinary trip. Anyone interested in its architecture should check Copenhagen Airport’s own channels for any public events rather than plan a visit around a flight.