Bryghusprojektet | OMA

OMA’s design for Bryghusprojektet, which is being funded by the philanthropic Realdania Foundation, was first revealed in 2006 and scheduled for completion in early 2017. OMA is currently going head to head with Danish firm BIG in a competition to transform a convention center in Miami, USA, while work is nearly complete on the OMA’s Shenzhen Stock Exchange in China – see all architecture by OMA. The center will be surrounded by its own subjects of study and research, explains Ellen van Loon, who is OMA’s partner-in-charge on the project along with the firm’s co-founder Rem Koolhaas. The center will include exhibition areas, research facilities, conference rooms, an auditorium, a bookshop, and a cafe. More details come after the jump. The design for the Bryghusprojektet is a linear display of the tenets of Danish Modernism: monumentality, simplicity, and politeness. The Copenhagen harbor is experiencing a surge in development, transforming a previously underused natural asset into a new city-wide destination. The Bryghusgrunden site lies in the center of this transformation. To capitalize on the site’s potential we propose to use the building as an ‘urban motor’ to actively link the city and the waterfront. Providing a connection under the busy Christians Brygge, where entrances to the different program elements are strategically located, the site becomes both a destination and a connector at the hinge of the waterfront and the ‘entrance’ to the city. As opposed to the typical stacked section, where building programs remain autonomous, the program ‘heap’ can create unexpected and unpredictable situations where each program is made aware of its coexistence with the others.

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Zoning

The Bryghusgrunden site, situated on a fault line between two zones – a stagnant heritage zone of government offices and historic buildings, and a mutating Metropol zone – can be considered as a newly born urban district. The polarity between the two, along with the waterfront location, give the site a unique position within Copenhagen.

To give the waterfront definition and a sense of destination, a strong building footprint, touching all four sides of the site, would break the monotony. Each side of the site would retain its own identity. The building would become a meeting point of the waterfront, the harbour, Kierkegaard’s Square, and the city.

Courtesy of OMA

Urban Definition

Harbour Modernism

A linear display of the tenets of Danish Modernism: monumentality, simplicity, and politeness. The harbor holds some of Denmark’s most notable architectural icons, both past, and present

Surrounded by historically significant and protected buildings on three sides of the site, the surrounding context is highly sensitive to the building’s volume. The highest point of the building relates to the Lille Christianborg to the west and the Old Brewery to the northeast forming an enclave of low-rise historical buildings directly to the north.

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Program

Opposed to the typical stacked section, where building programs remain autonomous, the program ‘heap’ can create unexpected and unpredictable situations where each program is made aware of its coexistence with the others.

DAC

The Danish Architecture Centre is the only architecture research and display venue to be embedded within its own subjects of housing, offices, and parking.

Program Sequence

The DAC program is organized as a vertical sequence through the building. Starting below ground and moving upwards to the cafe with its view over all of Copenhagen, each program is given a unique position and quality making a varied progression through the building.

DAC Auditorium

Looking out over the city of Copenhagen, the DAC Auditorium reconnects the visitor to the city; from the outside, it becomes an attracting beacon for DAC.

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Laboratory

DAC could take advantage of its varying position throughout the building by treating the surrounding program as a testing ground for architectural experiments in housing, offices, and parking.

RealDania

The offices for Realdania are located on the lowest three levels and can be accessed from the Urban Passage. Via voids and double height spaces, the various levels are spatially connected and offer interesting views and relations between the offices and the urban spaces along the water.

Offices The rentable office spaces offer generous views into the city through the large glass facade. The facade to the DAC atrium provides internal relations to other building users and the public. All offices are provided with natural ventilation which will enhance the comfort in the office space.

Landscape

As an extension of the urban passage, the surrounding site is reformed into a series of public spaces. The north, adjacent to the Materialgård, is small in scale and designed as an intimate public plaza. Along the water, the long and narrow strip is populated with urban activities further intensifying the population of the site.

Playground

In the design of the building and the landscape, a playground concept is integrated. Different than the current playground the new proposal has different typologies of playgrounds distributed over the entire site. The most secured playground area is an exterior terrace located within the building volume, the landscape at the waterfront is attractive for the older kids. The playground will have a mix of an urban character and natural topographic elements and will challenge the children.

Courtesy of OMA

Courtesy of OMA

Show full profile Ibrahim Abdelhady

Ibrahim Abdelhady is an architect, academic, and media entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in architecture and digital publishing. He is the Founder and CEO of Arch2O.com, a leading platform in architectural media, renowned for showcasing innovative projects, student work, and critical discourse in design. Holding dual PhDs in Architecture, Dr. Abdelhady combines academic rigor with industry insight, shaping both future architects and architectural thought. He actively teaches, conducts research, and contributes to the global architecture community through his writing, lectures, and media ventures. His work bridges the gap between practice and academia, pushing the boundaries of how architecture is communicated in the digital age.