Renewal and tradition under one roof

The Nordvest district of Copenhagen is home to old workshops and small factories, and new offices are now being built to match this unique urban environment. The new office complex is even built to DGNB certification standards in the Silver category.

Photo: Helene Høyer Mikkelsen

Old bricks and homogeneous façades with large windows are an interpretation of the industrial culture at Dortheavej in north-west Copenhagen. The complex consists of two buildings along the street with a square-like space between them leading to an area with a mix of small businesses.

The buildings have 3 and 3½ floors and are thereby scaled to match most of the surrounding buildings. The interiors of the buildings are also inspired by industrial architecture in the form of raw concrete walls and exposed installations. Edge-on parquet and deep window niches clad in wood are obviously robust, but also a fitting contrast to the raw walls.

The ceilings in all the offices are covered with black Troldtekt acoustic panels, which act as a unifying ‘backdrop’ behind many ventilation system pipes. The offices have high ceilings and large windows letting in daylight from several directions, and with the black ceilings accentuating the brightness and airiness of the rooms.

Modern acoustic solutions

At the entrance to both buildings, a staircase leads to the upper floors around a stair tower clad in black Troldtekt puzzle on all four sides. The patterned panels add discreet decoration and emphasise the lift as a unifying element in the stairwell. Troldtekt puzzle is a square panel that can be combined into careful patterns or used to create a more random look as in this case.

In the canteen, a textural and unique look has been created using yellow rhomb shapes on the interior walls. Troldtekt rhomb mini creates a three-dimensional effect and thus serves both as a stylish decorative element and as an effective sound absorber – which can be quite important in a canteen.