CF Møller Architects have covered Carlsberg Group's headquarters with a copper façade and a golden metal bridge as a reference to beer and brewing equipment

Copenhagen, Denmark

"As a building sculpture, it must also have the same confidence, iconic attitude, and aspiration of architectural quality as the existing listed buildings of the Carlsberg legacy in the area," says Lone Wiggers, Architect, and Partner at C.F. Møller Architects.

The new headquarters of the Carlsberg Group by C.F. Møller Architects is a four-story dynamic office building that strengthens knowledge sharing, collaboration, and innovation while standing in harmony with its historic surroundings, in Copenhagen's historic Carlsberg City District, Valby Bakke.

Carlsberg Central Office has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

The main purpose of the project was to improve the physical work environment and support the Carlsberg employee identity; the building thus had very high ambitions.

The architects wanted people to feel proud when they went to work. The headquarters should be an attractive place to work – and not only in terms of Carlsberg's products and brand – but also in being in attractive physical surroundings with a good indoor climate.

The headquarters consists of three wings, which unite in an atrium that opens onto Carl Jacobsen's Garden overlooking the Carlsberg City District and connects all floors of the building, both vertically and horizontally, into one single working community. In the atrium, a large amphitheater-style staircase furnished with cushions faces the gardens, inviting visitors and employees to socialize and use the space for informal working and short breaks.

A nordic material palette is applied to the interior, with white concrete floors in the central atrium and the communal spaces extending out into the gardens. Brass details were combined with herringbone bamboo floors and large glass walls for maximum light.

"The interior spaces are trying to balance the complex culture of Carlsberg that plays out between a kind of down-to-earth folklorism and an elegant internationalism belonging to a successful international export brand," explains Wiggers.

The building creates identity and interacts harmoniously with its surroundings, reflecting the aesthetic and technical quality that characterizes the historic architecture on the site, as well as Carlsberg as a company: The design balances the need for an iconic headquarters expression fitting a world-class brand like Carlsberg with its location in a delicate and topographically demanding site.

The façade consists of large glass sections rhythmically broken by vertical copper-clad slats coated with an ultra-durable, beautifully patinated, and maintenance-free layer of recycled copper. The copper leads the mind back to the old brewery tanks and refers to the many beautiful copper details on the historic buildings in the Carlsberg City District.

The construction makes use of sustainable and CO2-conscious materials, emphasizing a good indoor climate with natural materials, solar cells, water-saving fixtures, and heat recovery ventilation. The building's materials were chosen with both durability and sustainability in mind.

The building features integrated and daylight-controlled solar shading, and sustainable hard-wearing, as well as sound-regulating bamboo floors. Additionally, there are green roofs, LAR systems, and a rainwater basin in the garden.

Surfaces have been mainly left untreated and without chemical intervention, while wood cladding is micro-perforated to provide acoustic absorption. The façade is fitted with low-energy ventilation systems that filter and exchange air to optimize the indoor climate. Solar panels were placed on the roof, which also doubles as a green roof in areas.

Project: Carlsberg Central OfficeArchitects: C.F. Møller ArchitectsLead Architect: Lone WiggersGeneral Contractor: Per Aarsleff A/SConsulting Engineers: Niras A/SDeveloper: EKJ Rådgivende IngeniørerClient: Carlsberg A/SPhotographers: Adam Mørk