In 1917, C. L. David bought the townhouse at Kronprinsessegade no. 30 that had been built in c. 1806-1807, probably to designs by J. H. Rawert, the city surveyor. With this acquisition, David had secured a suitable home for himself and room for his growing art collection. The building held a special significance for him as well, since it had belonged to his great-grandfather J. N. David a century before.

Between 1918 and 1920, the architect Carl Petersen (1874-1923) changed the slope of the roof to add two large rooms and one small one on the fourth story, along with a connecting staircase, to house the art collection. A special gallery for the ceramics collection was built in 1928 by one of Carl Petersen’s employees, the architect Kaare Klint (1888-1954), who was also responsible for outfitting what today is the open repository at the back of the same story. There was access to the art collection from David’s residence on the story below, which was also decorated with works of art. The other two stories were rented out.