The White Meat City

Facts

Functionalist meat hall

By Kathrine G. Bjerregaard, Cand.mag i historie og filosofi / Master of Arts, History and Philosophy (33 stories)

Bordering on Halmtorvet, Skelbækgade and Ingerslevsgade in Vesterbro in Copenhagen, you'll find the White Meat City. It is currently being transformed from an industrial food district to a creative free zone. Copenhagen's then city architect, Poul Holsøe, designed the meat city in 1931-34. It is considered a masterpiece of functionalist architecture that is built up symmetrically around the huge meat and pork halls with sawtooth roofs and one big superstructure letting in the light. The two- to four-storey reinforced concrete buildings have smooth white facades and large closely-spaced windows with metal frames painted blue.

Public place

Selected entry

Copenhagen's own Meat Packing District

Story written by Kathrine G. Bjerregaard

Time / Periode 1931 1934

5 Comments 2 recommendations

For more than one hundred years, the White Meat City was a restricted access industrial area. But in 2007 it was opened. Ever since, the old packing district has been undergoing a major transformation. Today, it is a creative hotspot", inspired partly by the famous Meat Packing District in New York. At the Jolene Bar in the White Meat City, I meet a student who appreciates its charm: "There's a lot going on. We came over from Sweden tonight because we'd heard a lot of good things about the Meat City. It's the first time I've been here, but I once lived in Berlin and the atmosphere here is a bit like it. The same idea of partying in a pretty rough industrial area. It's cool!" "