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This remarkable transformation of a former industrial ship yard in Denmark’s Elsinore into a cultural and knowledge centre has been completed by AART Architects A/S. A glass and steel facade projects from the traditional brickwork of the original building redefining the complex with a ‘fragmented yet strongly coherent structure’.Encompassing 17,000 sq m the new knowledge centre incorporates a series of concert halls, showrooms, conference facilities and a public library overlooking Kronborg Castle and the Sound (which separates Denmark and Sweden). Set in industrial surroundings, the architects have consciously incorporated several related design touches, including wrought iron stairs and concrete interior design elements.
A cross-hatched pattern of structural elements casts a latticework of shadows on the internal volume, enlivening the interior space while referencing the industrial history of the building. A transparent facade softens the boundaries between inside and outside space, drawing natural sunlight through a glass projection which acts as a climate shield reducing the energy demands of the complex.
AART Architects A/S details: “The contrast between past and present permeates the Culture Yard. For instance, the original concrete skeleton with armoured steel has been reinforced, but left exposed as a reference to the area’s industrial past. The historical context has thus been the main structural idea in the design process, ensuring the keen observer will discover a chapter of history in every corner of the yard and every peeling of the wall. In other words, if you want to understand what Elsinore really is, what the intangible blur between past and present feels like, this is the place to visit.”