A diversity of styles was represented in Denmark at the turn of the century, from the Art Nouveau commercial building (1907) designed by Anton Rosen for one of Copenhagen’s main shopping streets to the Dutch Renaissance-inspired Student Union Building (1910) by Ulrik Plesner and Aage Langeland-Matthiessen. In response to the lack of a defining style, many architects began to search for a “national architecture” that would be based on Danish traditions rather than on movements originating in other parts of Europe. The first step in this direction resulted in the Abel Cathrine’s Foundation Building (1885–86) by H.B.Storck; however, the most instrumental figure in the search for a national architecture was Martin Nyrop. Commissioned to design the Copenhagen Town Hall during the final decade of the 19th century, Nyrop sought to create a building that reacted to reliance on applied Renaissance-inspired ornament that characterized many buildings at the time and that responded to Danish mater...