ABSTRACT
Both part of mainland Europe and also a collective of islands (the capital Copenhagen is not at all central; it lies on the largest island to the east, Zealand), Denmark is essentially flat, and very much so. While the southern-most Nordic country, Denmark is subject to strong gales, week-long periods of entrenched bad weather and occasionally severe winters. To minimize these factors, Danish dwellings have traditionally been built around courtyards with large, steeply pitched roofs to protect their interiors against heat loss. They were also built “from east to west, in line with the wind, like ships riding at anchor” (Hansen, 1949, p. 6) and constructed “with one or two rows of vertical posts throughout the length of the house’s interior to support the roof” (Lund & Millech, 1963, p. 449).
