Johan Otto von Spreckelsen (May 4, 1929 – March 16, 1987) was a Danish architect best known for designing the Grande Arche de la Défense in Puteaux, on the outskirts of Paris, one of the most iconic institutional buildings of the late 20th century. Born in Vyborg, Denmark, he began his studies at Vyborg Cathedral School and trained as an architect at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, where he developed a deep affinity for pure geometry, abstraction, and classical tradition reinterpreted through a modern lens. From 1978, he was a professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the Academy of Fine Arts and later served as its director until his death.
For much of his career, he worked relatively discreetly in Denmark, designing churches and small-scale buildings, such as the Vangede Church near Copenhagen (1974), the Stavnsholt Church in the town of Farum (1981), and two Roman Catholic churches, including one in Esbjerg (1969), the Church of St. Nicholas, and the Church of Hvidovre (1960). His designs relied heavily on simple geometric figures, especially the square, a geometry evident in the plans and elevations of his churches, and even in their interiors.
His international recognition came in 1983 when he won the competition for the Grande Arche with a monumental proposal based on a perfect open cube, conceived as an "arch of contemporary humanism" that engaged with the historical axis of Paris. The project, unprecedented in its scale and complexity, posed a considerable technical and political challenge. Tensions with the French authorities and changes introduced during construction led Spreckelsen to abandon the project in 1986, a year before its completion.
He died prematurely in 1987. Despite a relatively limited output, his work occupies a unique place in European architecture due to its conceptual coherence, geometric rigour, and symbolic ambition, through which he articulated tradition, modernity, and monumentality.
