Massive former silo transformed into concrete apartments in Copenhagen

A 17-story grain silo has been transformed into a striking apartment building complex in Copenhagen. Designed by Danish practice COBE Architects (who also created the Krøyers Plads buildings here), the former industrial silo now comprises 38 single- and multi-floor residential units and an entirely new facade featuring angular protrusions fashioned from galvanized steel.

The silo’s original concrete structure remains in tact, as the architects aimed to preserve the spirit of the monolithic building. As such, the cavernous interiors are characterized by raw concrete walls and structural supports in each of the units, some of which have ceiling heights of up to seven meters, or about 23 feet, and measure between 106 and 401 square meters, or about 1,140 to 4,300 square feet.

Dramatic, floor-to-ceiling windows were punched into the facade and offer views of the North Harbor, a post-industrial area that is currently being transformed into a new city district. The Silo, as it’s been dubbed, is the area’s largest industrial building and includes two public spaces—a flexible event space on the ground floor and a restaurant with 360-degree views on the roof—that aim to facilitate public engagement with the building and the new development at large.

Because the silo stored and treated grain for 50 years, it was kept cool—a condition that would not be ideal for residents. Thus, in order to keep the character and materiality of the original building while also adapting it for a new function, the architects wrapped the existing structure with the aforementioned faceted facade, which now acts as a kind of climate shield. This solution allowed for the structure to remain as raw and untouched as possible.

Via: The Spaces