Dorte Mandrup has designed a community center in Kobenhavn that accommodates a wide variety of uses and gives new life to a faded 19^th century warehouse. The main objective was to connect the building’s many different activities and provides an openness and accessibility for the public. The practice has much experience with historic buildings, and the existing warehouse, located in an industrial building which dates from 1880, was treated respectfully but not shied away from. The Neighborhood Center contains a local library, cafe, youth center, offices and multipurpose hall.

The timber and glass box of the hall resembles a large shelving system that defines the borders of the space and creates a smooth transition between the interior and exterior. Sited on a small forest of sloping concrete columns, the main new building addition is connected to the first floor of the main building by a closed footbridge which allows access to the building without disturbing the library when its opening hours. This design gives the building two quite different lives, transparent by day, and a glowing presence on the street by night.

A new three-story entrance atrium was created by partly removing interior floor slabs. To make up for this loss of structure, a steel beams with wooden frame was added to the exterior to support the floors inside the building. The new structure is in sympathy with the existing building, and helps to add depth to the facade. New bay windows on the ground floor contribute to this effect. These timber pods are conceived internally as quiet sitting spaces, while adding a touch of theater to the space outside. This Neighborhood Center building was conceived as a “children’s treehouse” because of its trunks of sloped concrete columns.

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