Magpies 3D Architectural Design : IT University in Ørestaden

October 30, 2012

IT University in Ørestaden | Henning Larsen Architects

Danish architectural practice Henning Larsen Architects has designed the IT University in Ørestaden, Denmark. The masterplan for the area is based on a north-south-going, linear structure. This basic structure is designed as three strips conveying three different urban themes. The strips are intersected by roads on the transverse axis from Amager Fælledvej. Connections between the buildings lie on the transverse axis perpendicular to the open, landscaped areas.

The IT University appears open and inviting – forming a frame around students, professors and researchers of the university; a building in spatial dialogue with its surroundings and, at the same time, responding to the city by opening up and letting university activities interact as an asset to the neighbouring space.

The concept of the design of the university is that of a spatial network – a web in which each function is placed in a three-dimensional position around a central panopticon. The hall at the reception area offers a complete view of the university. From here it appears as a buzzing, spatial structure in which activities on all levels communicate with each other and with the common facilities located at ground level.

The entire volume has a metal skin stretching around the two long buildings and the central panopticon. The eastern and western facades have open glass screens with different degrees of opacity/transparency. Some of them are etched or silk-screen printed, others open as vents to work alongside an overall climatic strategy for the building.