Building transformation in Copenhagen’s Carlsberg City District
The Red Warehouse
This large red brick warehouse building in the historic Carlsberg City District had long been empty and run-down. A comprehensive building transformation has taken place with the addition of a modern superstructure in glass, allowing it to emerge as a modern office facility with capacity for several hundred employees.
Facts about the project
Place
Copenhagen, Denmark
Developer
Capman
Status
Completed
Photographer
Niels Nygaard Photography
From dilapidated warehouse to modern office environment
Rød Lagerbygning, the red warehouse, is centrally located in the Danish capital’s Carlsberg City District. Despite its dilapidated condition, the building still had a number of noteworthy architectural qualities, for example red hand-painted bricks throughout the facade wall, which also contained many details and finely executed transitions with cornices, individual window ledges and decorative elements. Based on a soft and conservative approach, the vision for the project was that the former industrial building would be transformed into a modern office environment with space for approximately 400 employees and with the potential for a street-facing unit such as a shop or showroom.
Enhancing daylight and outdoor spaces in building transformation
A main task in the building transformation was to provide enough daylight for occupants. This was solved by replacing the building’s difficult-to-use roof with a light and contemporary superstructure. To ensure sufficient daylight in the deep rooms, the superstructure has glass facades. It opens to the south as a trellis and enclosed terrace, where employees can exit the new modern office premises directly. In addition, there is a large roof terrace. Two new atrium spaces – along with the opening of the north facade and new slatted windows – ensure sufficient daylight for the lower floors.
Reinterpretation of original facades in transformation architecture
Rød Lagerbygning’s facades, which in several places appeared worn and damaged due to the partial demolition of the building to the north, have been renovated in this transformation architecture, in a reinterpretation of the original brick facades. This allows the building to remain as a natural part of the area’s architecture and history. The north facade has also been reinterpreted with a new brick facade and large arched windows.
The listed basements on two floors are intended for secondary functions. The beautiful, vaulted corridors in the lower basement are made functional by the inclusion of escape routes, so that the rooms could for example, be used for showrooms.
Overall, following the building transformation, Rød Lagerbygning has emerged as an iconic building in Carlsberg City District, where new and old are clearly separated, yet unified with a harmonious structure that ensures the building can be used for many years to come.
