Royal Theatre, Copenhagen

Architects: Boje Lundgaard, Lene Tranberg
Text: Edit Pálinkás
Photos: Adam Mork, Jens Lindhe, Signe Baadsgaard

It is much too rare an occasion to have an undeveloped area in the busy city centre where new large-scale cultural investments may be realized. The Danish Royal Theatre was erected in downtown Copenhagen at the junction of Frederiksstaden – a district created back in the 18th century – and the harbour of the capital. Danish architects Boje Lundgaard and Lene Tranberg have made use of light and shadow as well as the dynamism of a variety of materials and surfaces to create a building in which the theatre itself appears as a mystical experience. Promenades above the water, transparent glass surfaces and a sculpturesque tower are the components defining the building itself: even though these components could hardly be more different from one another, they come to merge in a harmonious and whole unit.

Client: Ministry of Culture
Client consultants: Moe & Brødsgaard & Erik Møllers Tegnestue
Architecture: Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitektfirma A/S
Engineers: COWI A/S
Acoustics: Gade & Mortensen Akustik A/S
Theater engineering: Ramböll AB Sverige
Artwork, Lighting Design: Jesper Kongshaug
Graphic design: Aggerbo & Henriksen