Client: Art Hub Copenhagen
Type: Flexible event space, ateliers and offices
Year: 2021
Area: 200 sqm
Photographs: Hampus Berndtson
Architect: pihlmann architects + Archival Studies

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Since 2019, Art Hub Copenhagen has been based in Kødbyen, the Copenhagen Meatpacking District. Within a couple of years, it will move to a new location. This temporary perspective is a premise which is turned into the general dogma: Every element must be reused. Nothing is discarded but rather revitalized through the alteration of function and appearance.

The dogma is rooted in the indisputable fact that today’s construction industry emits excessive amounts of greenhouse gases. If we are to achieve the climate targets – which we are fundamentally dependent on – it requires a radical transformation of the way we think and create architecture. Therefore, this project is developed as both materialized architecture and as a case study. It explores how to enhance architectural value through temporality and reduction of resource consumption.

Art Hub Copenhagen is housed in the characteristic one-story buildings at the entrance to the western part of the Kødbyen, called “The White” due to its bright, functionalist buildings. Originally, meat was sold from this space, it was then turned into a bank branch and today it hosts a modern art institution. Over time, a series of elements have been added – a weather porch, three glass cages, and a massive bank vault. These components disrupt the inherent articulation of the space defined by the rhythm of columns. Contrary to former renovations, this intervention does not bring new material to the site. It acts as a gradual return to the original character of the building according to heritage values, which have faded with every addition.

By rethinking and reusing the elements added over time, the space is redefined based on an interpretation of the genuine atmosphere and spatial composition. No layers are added, instead the existing ones are peeled away, leaving the distinctive spirit of the space exposed.

Both development and execution have been carried out in collaboration with Archival Studies. The two processes have taken place simultaneously, which is essential for the project as a case study – it is an archaeological process, which dissects the architecture layer by layer, dynamically creating a catalogue of possibilities. Every building consists of a series of components. By exposing and reconsidering them anew we can explore their untapped functional and aesthetic potentials. Consequently, a sensitivity emerges by rethinking the components.

The suspended ceiling tiles, known from various generic office spaces, have been dismantled and redefined. The slender aluminum profiles are left as a coarse-mesh filter, while the white tiles are reorganized into flexible, suspended folding walls. They hang as staged elements emphasizing the varying hue and intensity of the light, drawing references to both Kødbyen’s history and the surrounding facades.

The glass cages at the rear of the space have been dismantled, exposing the most prominent part of the facade at the entrance to Kødbyen. This in turn, highlights activities taking place at Art Hub Copenhagen. The dismantled glass panels are reused as newly constructed furniture and as a transparent room divider, softly sheltering the permanent workplaces. Similarly, less prominent materials are also redeemed, among other things, aluminum frames function as curtain hangers and windowsills as levelling wedges for the room divider.

The transformation of Art Hub Copenhagen points towards a general path for how recycling can be rethought in architecture. When resources are not consumed but regenerated into value-creating elements, recycling is not a necessary evil but the very catalyst of form and intention. Thus, this project operates sustainably on two intertwined levels: conservation of both resources and Kødbyen’s distinctive character.