VIA Campus Aarhus C – From Brewery to Beacon of Knowledge
VIA Campus Aarhus C is located on the historic site that once housed the Ceres Brewery. In 1856, merchant and distiller M.C. Lottrup, together with two local pharmacists, decided to establish a brewery in Aarhus. It was named after the Roman goddess of grain and fertility, Ceres.
In 1865, Ceres Haven (Ceres Garden) was established, and the following year the brewery’s main building was constructed – a building where Lottrup himself took residence. Today, a wall mural depicting the old brewery grounds can be seen in the Ceres Café in Building A.
Later, Lottrup’s son-in-law, Meulengracht, took over the brewery. A dynamic businessman, he and Lottrup’s daughter had no children, and rather than passing the brewery down as inheritance, Meulengracht formed a joint-stock company with three other breweries in Jutland – later known as Østjyske Bryggerier A/S. The brewery closed in 2008, and a new local development plan was drawn up for the entire area.
On January 31, 2011, a decision was made to build Campus Aarhus C on the former Ceres site. The vision was to create a beacon of advanced learning, knowledge development, and dissemination in the heart of Aarhus. The campus was completed in 2015 and officially inaugurated in 2016. Today, it houses ten different study programmes, as well as various research and teaching centres and shared services.
The overarching metaphor for the architecture is a jazz big band – vibrant, rhythmic, and joyful music that balances freedom and structure. The campus is designed to function as a living organism, open and accessible to both the city and its students. For instance, it is open 24/7 for students and staff. The campus consists of five interconnected buildings, joined both internally and across street level.
The total area covers 46,000 square metres, and the campus is home to approximately 6,500 students and 450 staff members.
Building B is considered the heart of the campus. At its centre hangs Jeppe Hein’s mobile, symbolising the interplay between students, academic programmes, and the surrounding society. The artwork also references the five campus buildings and the body’s five energy centres (chakras). The installation weighs around three tonnes and consists of five spheres – each with its own shape and colour.