Genuine community spirit

The name KAB-Fællesskabet is displayed above the entrance to the building, ‘fællesskabet’ being Danish for ‘community’. The name thus perfectly draws attention to KAB as a community of non-profit housing associations and residents, while highlighting the community-enhancing role of the new building.

Right where the railway tracks and roads intersect, the shape of the new KAB building has been tailored to an angular plot. Still, the architecture of the building with its beautiful brickwork comes across as perfectly harmonious, and with a distinctly welcoming and outward-looking attitude.

The location is spectacular and particularly so from the building’s green roof terrace, which offers views of large swathes of Copenhagen as well as the trains going by. The ground-floor lobby area is generously proportioned, with a café for prospective residents and others seeking assistance. In addition, the ground floor boasts meeting rooms and a canteen with high ceilings.

Daylight floods the space from the atrium skylights, highlighting the elegant wooden stairway that leads to the four storeys of offices above.

Streamlined and homely
Spatially, the building works extremely well, with a diversity of spaces, a comfortable ceiling height and an impressive degree of spatial and functional coherence. Wood features prominently in the interior design, including Troldtekt acoustic panels, and bare concrete.

Henning Larsen Architects designed the building and was also responsible for the interior design and choice of furniture, which adds to the cohesive feel of the building.  Along the façade, the workstations are distributed along the large windows.

Troldtekt acoustic panels in natural wood without bevelled edges provide a calm and acoustically efficient ceiling solution. The same ceiling solution is used in the corridors with detailing to ensure that the surfaces appear very homogeneous. From the stairway in the atrium, you can look into the ‘dolls’ house’, which consists of nine glass-fronted meeting rooms overlooking the atrium and forming a single architectural feature.