LoginJoin us
Register
Forgot Password
Add to Collection

The Wedge

Frederiksberg, Denmark
50accea5-0e98-4111-8415-03186d7b5f76.jpg
1 of 9

Located at the green area of the campus of the Copenhagen Business School between Frederiksberg Centre and Nordre Fasanvej, you find Kilen faculty building. Kilen also called " the Wedge" was designed by Boje Lundgaard & Lene Tranberg Architects. It consists of an atrium with five upper open floors that softly extend into an open atrium.

The Wedge's name and geometry are derived from the angled geometry of the site. The building consists of a four storey prismatic volume resting on a sculpted earth base integrated into the surrounding landscape.

In contrast to the prismatic exterior, an irregular oval shaped atrium extends the full height of the interior, accessing all of the building's functions and providing the spatial focus of the project.

Full storey screens of wood, matte glass, and copper characterize the facades. The screens rotate in response to sun, weather, and user, giving a constantly varying facade expression.

ConceptThe key concept behind Kilen is a dynamic ground floor, which appears as an extension of the campus landscape into the atrium. The roof of the atrium consists of large circular skylights, which cast diffuse and direct sunlight and create interesting light/shadow effects in the room, which vary according to the time of day and the season. Kilen sustains CBS' inner diversity by its structure and form, and it constitutes a characteristic framework around CBS. The building has a floor area of 10,000 sqm. and it was opened in 2006.

The building and territory

Kilen lies on two grassy hills on the highest part of Solbjerg Campus with the bicycle and footpath and the walkway running on either side of the building. The main entrances are carved into the hillside on the northern and southern sides of the building in connection with the paths. The hillsides are shaped into steps, providing places for taking breaks both inside and outside of the building

Facade and interior

Kilen consists of a glass facade. From the first floor and upwards an external sunscreen is installed, consisting of horizontal revolving shutters in a combination of wood, coloured glass and metal, which creates a vivid and kaleidoscopic appearance.

The key concept behind Kilen is a dynamic ground floor, which appears as an extension of the campus landscape into the atrium. The atrium continues up through the five upper floors as a softly shaped space. Two panorama elevators and a slim elegant spiral staircase in the atrium connect it with the upper floors. The roof of the atrium consists of large circular skylights, which cast diffuse and direct sunlight and create interesting light/shadow effects in the room, which vary according to the time of day and the season.

The lower three levels, together with the atrium, form a public space consisting of a cafe, classrooms, study areas and meeting rooms for students as well as a conference area. The upper three levels are reserved for research and administration and consist of offices and meeting rooms. In addition, there is an underground parking lot with room for approximately 60 cars with an entry ramp west of Kilen.

Materials

The interior of the house appears 'raw', consisting of robust and solid materials lsuch as concrete, glass and wood. There are contrasts on the surfaces of light materials combined with rich colours (black and red).

Go to article
  1. Architect's Website
  2. Copenhagen Business School
archibald, November 21st, 2012
Go to article