Højen 13

Aarhus Municipality, Denmark

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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Højen 13 is a brutalist villa built in 1958 in the Brabrand suburb of Aarhus, Denmark, designed by architect Knud Friis as his own residence and study on a hilltop overlooking Brabrand Lake. The original structure consisted of two parallel north-south wings connected by walls that enclose a paved courtyard, with the main building's distinctive form created by white garden walls supporting raw concrete first-floor slabs that appear as free-hanging beams. The ground floor housed kitchen, dining, bath, and guest rooms, while the upper floor contained living spaces and Friis's study; the second wing accommodated garage and storage. Expanded in 1970 with a third partially submerged eastern wing accessed by a skylight column, the villa exemplifies brutalist aesthetics through exposed concrete bearing formwork marks, bold blue-painted doors and windows, and rock or linoleum flooring. The raw concrete surfaces are softened by the building's elevated setting amid lush vegetation overlooking the water. Listed as a protected heritage building in 2008, Højen 13 represents the work of Friis, who partnered with Elmar Moltke in the firm Friis & Moltke.