A strong international team wins Carlsberg’s design and architecture competition to create a new Brand & Experience Centre in the Carlsberg District located in Copenhagen
It may not be a new Little Mermaid like the one Carl Jacobsen donated to Copenhagen in 1913 but Carlsberg is now ready to create an inspiring attraction in Copenhagen once again.
Today, Carlsberg took one step closer towards the realisation of the ambitious Brand & Experience Centre when the winner of the international design and architecture competition was revealed. The winning team was led by Ralph Appelbaum Associates a global cultural attraction planning and design company with offices in New York and London together with Danish PLH Architects among its partners. A total of 240 companies from 20 different countries participated in the competition.
It was a satisfied chairman of the jury, Carlsberg Group’s CEO Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen that revealed the results and the winning vision of the competition announced by Carlsberg Group back in April 2011:
“It was a tough decision to choose between the five finalists’ visions but the jury agreed that the winner was Ralph Appelbaum Associates from New York and London. Their team with PLH Architects from Denmark and Arup and The Visitor Attraction Company from Britain, convinced us that their very ambitious vision for the New Carlsberg Brewhouse is perfect for Carlsberg Group,” says Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen.
Carlsberg’s guests from around the world will be introduced to amazing and unique experiences in the new Brand & Experience Centre. In addition, the winning vision, that will attract 400,000 guests annually to the Carlsberg District in the future, draws parallels to Carlsberg’s heritage and authenticity which continues to live and breathe on the ‘berg’ where it all began in 1847.
Beyond the values of the vision, Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen also emphasised the winning team’s proven experience with realising this type of complex experience projects:
“The entire teams’ collective professionalism and proven abilities to deliver a strong vision for Carlsberg have weighed heavily. We also have to say that we, with enthusiasm, have seen how the individual is at the centre of the winning vision. Ralph Appelbaum Associates puts focus on the visitors of the Brand & Experience Centre, creating the perfect balance between Carlsberg’s inherited wishes to challenge, inspire, and entertain. At the same time, the vision respects the beautiful building’s architecture and history, making it perfect for us,” explains Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen.
The introduction of new and one of kind elements to the historical and unique architecture is a feature of the winning project that Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen finds appealing:
“An amazing roof top terrace with platforms for people to take in the views, a sky arena, a bar and restaurant, as well as a brand new club scene. All in the heart of Copenhagen. With this project, we are not only adding a new world-class tourist attraction to Copenhagen; the Carlsberg District also gets a new experience, emphasising Carlsberg’s clear presence in Copenhagen in the future,” says Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen.
Great interest for Carlsberg
Project Creative Director from Ralph Appelbaum Associates in New York, Dennis Cohen, looks forward to the project:
"Carlsberg welcomes the world to its newly transformed landmark brewhouse - a challenge stage for the digital age - that engages and rewards a new generation of adventurers willing to step up, do the right thing and to live courageously."
A thorough process has led Carlsberg to choose the winning team Ralph Appelbaum Associates.
The competition was launched in April 2011. 64 teams with companies from 20 different countries applied for the pre-qualifications. On Carlsberg founder J.C. Jacobsen’s 200-year birthday 2 September 2011, Carlsberg announced the five teams that had made it to the finals. From 24-26 February 2012, Carlsberg exhibited the five finalists’ visions in the New Carlsberg Brewhouse. More than 2,500 people visited the exhibition and several thousand gave their opinion on who should win during the exhibition and on Facebook.
The five finalists’ visions and the further process of realising Ralph Appelbaum Associates’ ideas can be found on http://www.carlsberggroup.com/brewhouseproject
Facts about the competition
Read more about the project on http://www.carlsberggroup.com/brewhouseproject
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Note to editors: Images shown are not those of the winning entry, as immaculately rendered as they may be.
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