Description
Nordhavn is the largest urban development project in Copenhagen and will become a new urban district in which 40,000 people will live and at least as many again will work. It could take 40 to 50 years to completely convert the 300-hectare-large harbour area. Such transformations often result in the demolition of the very building fabric that makes abandoned industrial sites so attractive – warehouses, sheds and storage buildings are frequently difficult or impossible to convert into apartments or offices. The situation is no different in Copenhagen.
The local architectural firm Cobe, who were part of the team that won the 2008 urban planning competition for Nordhavn, have set a new precedence by successfully converting an industrial building for residential use. And not just any building but one that at first glance seems least suitable for living in: a 17-storey-high, 50-year-old grain silo of low-grade concrete.
38 luxuriously large apartments – between 108 and 401 m² – have been fit into the silos with room heights of up to 7 m. In addition, an event space is located on the ground floor and a restaurant on the roof. Inside, the architects have preserved the raw concrete surfaces of the warehouse wherever possible.
The outside has, however, been transformed. To accommodate the new uses, numerous window openings have been cut into the concrete. The façades were also insulated and clad. Nevertheless, the architects have tried to carry over “the spirit of the silo” into its new use. The new cladding panels, made of galvanised steel, will acquire a patina over time and may eventually look as worn as the concrete used to be.
The balconies attached to the outer face of the silo are made of the same steel material. Yet rather than being simply attached, they appear to fold out of the surface of the façade, maintaining the monolithic appearance of the 60 m high building slab.
Drawings
Ground and standard floor, scale 1:750
Cross section, scale 1:750
Photos
Exterior view
Interior view