STUDENTS LIVING IN WORLD

CAMPUS: Tietgenkollegiet in Copenhagen is no ordinary student residence. It is an architectural study in communal living space – striking, unconventional and nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award 2007.

When the Foundation behind Denmark’s new student residence, Tietgenkollegiet in Copenhagen’s new urban district Ørestaden, invited architects to submit competitive design proposals for the building, ambitions were sky high. World class architecture was what the Foundation wanted, and what it got. The student residence, which was completed in 2006, is already one of the most prizewinning buildings in Denmark, and has become an attraction for architects visiting Denmark to study building and design.

The striking and unorthodox building, designed by Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter, has already become a landmark in Ørestaden. The circular building with its 360 student rooms is an eye catcher among the otherwise largely angular buildings in the surrounding area.

Inspiration from dinner plates
“Actually, the proposal that we submitted came about by serendipity,” says architect and partner in Lundgaard & Tranberg, Peter Thorsen. “While we were sitting discussing the generally angular architecture that characterises Ørestaden, someone placed a stack of dinner plates in the middle of the table. That brought our pencils rapidly to life, and the round shape set our thoughts going around the living space that a student residence represents – the interplay between the shared and the individual in modern college life. When we submitted our design, we took a bit of a risk because the local plans didn’t anticipate a circular building in that location. But we had a strong feeling that our solution was the right one.”

Democratic form
It was just as much the project’s concept of interplay between shared and private living as its aesthetics and functionality which gave Lundgaard & Tranberg the prize. In contrast to conventional apartment block design, the round form brings the residents together around a communal area containing kitchens, TV rooms, eating areas etc.

“When we started the development process, we began by asking ourselves –and the Foundation’s board of management, who all have their own student past – a number of questions. What is a modern student residence all about? And  we all agreed that it’s about social interaction, with everything that involves of give-and-take. And this is where the circular form helps to emphasise the sense of democratic community. Everyone lives equally close and equally distant from everything and everybody.”

Gravity-defying
Tietgenkollegiet is unusual both in its form and component materials. An advanced construction has been used for the dramatic out-projections, which seem to defy gravity.

“Our philosophy is to use materials which have their own intrinsic qualities and can pass the test of time. We also emphasise that the connection between the constructional form and the materials used is easy to appreciate,” says Peter Thorsen. “The concrete is raw and rustic, and the facade elements have the natural quality of American oak. For wall coverings, we have made the unusual choice of plywood, decorated with a special printing technique to make each panel unique. The external copper cladding has a jigsaw effect which helps to emphasise the building’s individual character.”

Like a bridge
When you see the building for the first time, one is struck by how the individual modules are suspended like spokes in a wheel. The effect is astonishing and is based on bridge building principles developed for the building by consulting engineers COWI. Pre-stressed steel cables are cast into the walls to reinforce the construction. “Seen from the outside the building seems to defy gravity,” says Peter Thorsen. “But I can promise you that it will still be standing in 100 years time.”

Tietgenkollegiet in Copenhagen Site area: 13,190 m2 Floor area: 26,828 m2 Number of apartments: 330 1-room apartments of 26-33 m2 and 30 2-room apartments of 45 m2 Tietgenkollegiet has been nominated for the international Mies van der Rohe Award 2007