In the spring of 2013, the Danish Red Cross announced a competition for design proposals for their new Volunteer House in Copenhagen; a house intended for involvement and commitment and a focal point for everyone wanting to contribute to Red Cross’ efforts towards people in distress. Danish architects COBE won the competition in collaboration with PK3 landscape architects and Søren Jensen engineers and the winning project has now been revealed. The Volunteer House will be built with a 25 million DDK donation from the A. P. Møller Foundation.
The new Volunteer House will be built as an extension to the existing headquarters of Danish Red Cross and will be directly connected to the main entrance, thus creating a common entrance to the entire Red Cross. Currently located in a central and busy area of Copenhagen, many people pass by the building daily and as a result the Volunteer House has been designed with the ambition to invite people in and to encourage passers-by to enter and explore.
”The building is shaped as a triangle rising up towards the existing Red Cross headquarters and has a spectacular pitched roof surface with stairs, terraces and green elements. The roof will be a distinctive place attracting and inviting people to stop and hang out. A meeting place not only for the current employees and volunteers of the Red Cross - but for all citizens in Copenhagen and beyond“, says Dan Stubbergaard, Founder and Creative Director at COBE.
Upon entering the building you will be greeted by an exhibition and café area. Turning left, the Volunteer House unfolds and a huge staircase leads you to a flexible conference and exhibition space. The 750 sq m building contains an open and flexible interior lay-out with the possibility of facilitating various requirements such as workshops, meetings, exhibitions, events, lectures, film showings and much more.
“It has been very important for us that the new Volunteer House relates to and interprets its surroundings. The present Danish Red Cross headquarters is a beautiful 1950’s modernistic building consisting mainly of yellow bricks and a yellow tile roof. In the Volunteer House, this is reflected in a modern mode of expression through the use of yellow brick tiles on the entire roof surface.
"The colour scheme and tactility resembles the yellow bricks, but the overall expression of the façade is radically different. Inside, golden colours are used, accompanied by wooden surfaces and exposed concrete. All these materials that in resemblance with bricks give the user a warm, tactile and vibrant impression,” Dan Stubbergaard continues.
The project is developed in close collaboration with the Danish Red Cross and volunteer representatives. Through a process of dialogue, everything from programme to design over user friendliness has been tested, discussed, modified and adjusted. The construction of the Volunteer House is planned to begin in January 2015 and is expected to be completed in early 2016.
Credits
Client: Danish Red Cross - donated by the A. P. Møller Foundation
Architects: COBE
Engineers: Søren Jensen Rådgivende Ingeniørfirma (Søren Jensen Consulting Engineer)
Landscape architects: PK3
