Copenhagen’s contemporary copper tower 

Wind and rain have patinated the copper tower which is a landmark of a new area in Copenhagen.
In the beginning it glinted gold. Within a few months the colour of the copper-clad tower in Copenhagen’s Sdr. Frihavn quarter had taken on a warm red hue. But it will be another 15-20 years before patination of the more than 140 tons of copper will be complete and onlookers will be treated to a spectacle of green, red, brown and black colours.

While the facade facing east will be exposed to the salt water of the Øresund, wind and rain will impact the west-facing facade. As a result, the east facade will become coated with verdigris while the west side will over time take on a warmer colour.

The building changes

"I am fascinated by this changeability,” says Poul Schülein, partner in Arkitema, the company which designed the complex. “I find the process of patination extremely interesting. In time it will tell the whole history of the building, which will take on a variety of different appearances over the next many years. Right now it is impossible to say exactly how the changes will manifest themselves. But I am very excited about what lies ahead."

Copenhagen’s new, 62-metre high landmark is part of an area designed by Dutch architect Adriaan Geuze for a development company formed by Copenhagen Harbour and TK Development.

Interplay with the city towers

The tower is one of only a few contemporary construction projects to revive the old Scandinavian building tradition of utilising copper cladding. The idea is that the new tower will interact with other prominent towers in Copenhagen, which all have copper spires.

Poul Schülein explains: "The building had to be distinctively characteristic, because it stands at the seaward approach to Copenhagen and serves as a landmark for the area in which it stands. And we have succeeded. It is also a rather unusual office block, yet it offers all the facilities one associates with modern-day office blocks."

Internal and external aesthetics

Together with a smaller basis building, the copper tower – a construction which emphasises the internal and external aesthetics - will be the domicile of the law firm Plesner. Because the copper cladding is plasticised, the building could be constructed with rounded corners.

The copper theme is also prominent in the reception area, where the service point, built with granite, is clad with the reddish material. A three-level atrium library is entered from the first floor, while Plesner’s reception and conference rooms located on the 15th and 16th floors offer a panorama view of Copenhagen and the Øresund, with Sweden in the distance. The lower part of the building is a striking combination of granite and glass, and gives the upper part the appearance of floating above the ground.

By: Christina Tækker, cht@cowi.com
Published: 25.05.2004