Founded in the 17th century by King Frederik III and expanded by his son Christian V, the first absolute monarch of Denmark (previous monarchs were elected), the park was originally used by royals for par force hunting, a style adopted after the Danish monarch’s exposure to it at the court of Louis IV.

The monarch fenced in a sizeable piece of land to control the deer population and designers carved out a star-shaped path to enable the necessary lines-of-sight for par force hunting. At the center of the pathways stands a Baroque hunting lodge, which is still in the possession of the Royal Family today. 

For centuries, Copenhageners would travel to the park via carriage. Today, while still a popular weekend destination, the preferred conveyance is train – that is, until crossing one of the park’s historic red gates, where horse-drawn carriages still shuttle visitors around.Alongside Denmark’s transition from absolute monarchy to a parliamentary democracy, the care and shelter expected for the horses that shoulder its carriages has also modernized.

Alongside Denmark’s transition from absolute monarchy to a parliamentary democracy (with a largely symbolic monarchy), the care and shelter expected for the horses that shoulder its carriages has also modernized. This year, the government introduced new regulations for horsekeeping that will make the old stables of Dyrehaven illegal and outmoded soon.

To update the stables of this historic park, the Danish government turned to an appropriate figure: Jens Bertelsen of Bertelsen & Scheving. Commonly known as the “Queen’s Architect,” Bertelsen’s Danish title translates closer to “Royal Surveyor” – but his job is exactly what it sounds like it would be, namely, the maintenance and care of all the structures still belonging to the Danish Royal Family. Last year, Bertelsen talked with Amelia Taylor-Hochberg for the second episode of our interviews podcast, Archinect Sessions One-to-One. You can check out the episode here.

For the stable project at the Dyrehaven, Bertelsen and his firm had quite a long and abnormal list of requirements. According to the new horsekeeping legislation, horses cannot be tied up in their stalls; the ceiling must be at least 2.6 meters above any bedding; each horse must have at least 30 square meters of personal space; mares and foals must be kept together for a month after foaling; there must be “an adequate amount of natural light to fulfill the behavioral and physiological needs of the horse,” and so on.

Any architecture project designed for a non-human client is interesting (or occupant, if not client per se), but the stables designed by Bertelsen & Scheving exhibit a particularly striking degree of sensitivity and care. The black-painted wood construction is subtle, blending carefully into its bucolic context.Any architecture project designed for a non-human client is interesting, but the stables designed by Bertelsen & Scheving exhibit a particularly striking degree of sensitivity and care.

100 meters long, the stable is divided into three separate “houses.” The roof has a sizeable overhang and, to minimize thickness, is topped with girders that are covered with roofing felt. I can’t say this with absolute confidence, but I’d like to think that if I were a horse then I’d be pretty happy to live among such clean lines and calming colors.

For more work by Bertelsen & Scheving, check out their firm profile here, as well as our interview with Jens Bertelsen for Archinect Sessions.