‘This building by BIG is conceived as a reinterpretation of the historic Copenhagen tower, consisting of two elements: a base relating to the scale of the surrounding buildings, and a slim tower becoming a part of the skyline. The base houses shopping, conference center and the new Main Library of Copenhagen. The tower is a luxury hotel.
The tower and the base are morphed together in a spiral-shaped cascade of stairs leading to a public roof top plaza overlooking the City Hall square.’
Courtesy of BIG
Visible from the city’s Central Station, Town Hall Square and Tivoli Gardens, the project strives to extends the area’s vibrancy, with its mix of functions allowing for a variety of uses and users throughout the day. Even with the complexity of the twist from podium to tower, the design illustrates the direction for housing multiple functions in singular object, something that can be traced back to SOM’s 1969 John Hancock Center in Chicago. This is opposed to an approach that expresses each function individually, like REX’s proposal for Museum Plaza in Louisville, Kentucky.
BIG’s design addresses both its immediate context and the wider context of Copenhagen. The architects conceptually melded two types of towers present in the city: spiraling church spires and glass box office buildings. While created a hybrid via a particular response to the city’s skyline, the twisting shaft of the tower opens up immediate views to its surroundings on its raised public space. Steps (scala) from the street level (paralleling the library’s circulatiton underneath) provide access to the plaza, vertically aligned with the neighboring buildings.
The generous amount of outdoor space afforded to the public must be partially attributed to the city’s desire to house their Main Library within Scala Tower, as well as the architect’s response to the site and program that led them to house everything in one volume. Conceptually these two truly public spaces of the project (library and plaza) are mirrored about the steps leading from the street level, like two sides of a coin. While twisting towers have gained popularity since Turning Torso, this designs commendably uses that technique to link one public realm to another one.
Courtesy of BIG
Courtesy of BIG
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.