A 200-foot-tall, 17-story industrial silo in Copenhagen’s Nordhavnen harbor is the largest and one of the most iconic landmarks of the area, but its function doesn’t match the needs of the district.
In 2013, By og Havn, a port development enterprise jointly owned by the city of Copenhagen and the Danish government, took the lead to transform Nordhavnen into a bustling, commercial area planned to bring tens of thousands of apartments and jobs.
Part of the transformation would involve the iconic silo’s conversion into a residential tower. Danish firm COBE Architects was brought in to execute the project, according to a report by Inhabitat.
To soften the industrial and highly utilitarian design of the original structure—which was used to store corn and grains for decades—COBE will envelope the original concrete structure with layers of different-sized white balconies.
The building’s interior will preserve the mostly exposed concrete of the original structure.
The silo as it exists today. Photo courtesy COBE Architects
Rendering of the planned conversion. Rendering courtesy COBE Architects
Because of the building’s original function and demand for different-sized spaces for storage, the new residential building will feature a variety of apartment configurations and sizes.
The waterfront development includes a United Nations campus called UN City that opened in 2013 at the eastern part of the Nordhavnen area.
According to Danish engineering website Ingeniøren, the Nordhavnen project uses 28,000 tons of steel, making it the largest construction job in Denmark and the largest consumer of steel in Northern Europe.
For more information and renderings, checkout the slideshow at cobe.dk.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 100 Medical Office Building Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
CannonDesign, Perkins Eastman, HGA, and E4H Environments for Health Architecture top the ranking of the nation's largest medical office building (MOB) architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 100 Outpatient Facility Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
Perkins and Will, HDR, CannonDesign, and Massa Multimedia Architecture top the ranking of the nation's largest outpatient facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 130 Hospital Facility Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
HDR, HKS, CannonDesign, and Stantec top the ranking of the nation's largest hospital facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 115 Healthcare Sector Contractors + CM Firms for 2022
Turner Construction, Brasfield & Gorrie, DPR Construction, and JE Dunn Construction top the ranking of the nation's largest healthcare sector contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking factors all healthcare sector work, including hospitals, outpatient facilities, and medical office buildings.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 90 Healthcare Sector Engineering + EA Firms for 2022
Jacobs, AECOM, WSP, and IMEG Corp. head the ranking of the nation's largest healthcare sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking factors all healthcare sector work, including hospitals, outpatient facilities, and medical office buildings.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 170 Healthcare Sector Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
HDR, CannonDesign, HKS, and Stantec top the ranking of the nation's largest healthcare sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking factors all healthcare sector work, including hospitals, outpatient facilities, and medical office buildings.
Designers / Specifiers / Landscape Architects | Oct 6, 2022
DAHLIN announces acquisition of Design Line Interiors
DAHLIN Architecture | Planning | Interiors announced today that it is expanding its interiors capabilities with the acquisition of Del Mar, California-based Design Line Interiors.
Contractors | Oct 6, 2022
Modular construction gets boost from impacts of the pandemic
The impact of the Covid pandemic on the construction industry appears to be fueling demand for modular construction methods, especially in the western U.S. and Canada.
Laboratories | Oct 5, 2022
Bigger is better for a maturing life sciences sector
CRB's latest report predicts more diversification and vertical integration in research and production.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 5, 2022
Co-living spaces, wellness-minded designs among innovations in multifamily housing
The booming multifamily sector shows no signs of a significant slowdown heading into 2023. Here is a round up of Giants 400 firms that are driving innovation in this sector.
