IT University, Copenhagen

Architect: Henning Larsen Architects
Text: Vágó Krisztina
Photos: Adam Mørk

The tender for one of the newest universities of Denmark was won by Henning Larsen Architects in 2000. Four years later IT University moved into its new home built in a corner of the northern part of Oerestad, the newest district of Copenhagen nearest the inner city. The two blocks are organized around an imposing five-storey atrium in the centre the attraction of which is in the system of box-type spaces moved in a highly dynamic way. Rooms of various size for counselling and group discussion reach into the air space of the common atrium. Their geometric contours are decorative components in themselves, the thick snow-white frame including the rooms flanked by glass partitions on two sides evoke the spatial sculpture of classical modernism, whilst it can also be interpreted as the playful and highly articulated version of the flowing space as if drawers were pulled out of a large white wardrobe. Spaces suited for study are furnished in the balconies between the „drawers” as well as in the open corridors, so that the atrium is live and busy all day long. Bridging over the space between the two blocks there is a glass roof bathing the atrium in sunshine even in cloudy weather.

Architecture: Henning Larsen
Landscape: Svendt Kerkegaard
Engineers: Carl Bro
Client: SFUB