Industrial buildings at the heart of residential development

The conversion of an industrial building became the focal point for a large new residential neighbourhood in Silkeborg, called Kongegården.

With the help of Sweco Architects and others, AAB Silkeborg has converted a former machine factory into a building featuring a supermarket on the ground floor and 16 apartments above it. The entrance to the dwellings is via stairs in the gables, which bring you to a covered atrium that clearly references the industrial history of the building. The apartments, each spanning two floors and with balconies on the facade of the building, are all accessed via this communal space.

A small yard has been created by the entrance door, providing a natural private zone around the entrance. Access to the open atrium and the different zones has been achieved using movable fixtures and fittings for plants, seating and storage. To ensure a calm atmosphere, all the fixtures are brick red, a colour that is also reflected in the interior facades.  

Exemplary renovation

The atrium apartments have unique characteristics due to the previous use of the building and the history is highlighted in the choice of raw concrete floors and exposed structures. Troldtekt ceilings have also been selected, which complement the rawness through exposed materials. They also ensure excellent acoustics, which is necessary to get the best out of the communal space. In addition to the converted industrial building, 56 other residences have also been erected in Kongegården. These complement the building through recurring elements of red brick, joints and balconies.

The newly developed multi-storey dwellings in the residential complex include new social housing units. White Troldtekt has been used in the entrances of these dwellings. 

Kongegården has been nominated for the Danish Retrofit Award, with the atrium building having been highlighted as a "beacon in the neighbourhood, which is consistent through the use of materials and colours".