Page 168 - AIT1016_E-Paper

BÜRO UND VERWALTUNG • OFFICE BUILDINGS INNERE WERTE • INNER VALUES

B rønnums Hus in the centre of Copenhagen has an exciting history. In 1865, the stock-
3 3 broker Martin R. Henriques and the tobacco manufacturer Bernhard Hirschsprung
5 commissioned the architect Ferdinand Vilhelm Jensen with building a representative resi-
dence. Numerous artistic reliefs can be seen on the west façade facing the Royal Danish
Theatre. On the ground floor, the Café Brønnum at the strikingly rounded building corner
4
was, for more than 125 years, a popular meeting place for intellectuals, artists and the
4
6 3 actors and dancers of the nearby multi-genre theatre. The two wealthy families loved sur-
rounding themselves with personalities from cultural life. Hans Christian Andersen, the
4
country’s most famous poet and author, for instance, was a welcome guest who even
moved in with the Henriques on the first upper storey for a while. When the families
moved away, the building was sold to the government and from then on used as a ballet
1
2 school for particularly talented young people. The Royal School of Architecture also used
4 2
3 a part of the premises and, instead of coffee, theatre tickets were sold on the ground floor.
3
6 Taking up the history and letting it be experienced

In 2014, Brønnums Hus was sold to the Karberghus real-estate company who commissio-
Grundriss 1. Obergeschoss • First Floor Plan ned a whole army of experts with the restoration of the building which was registered as
a protected monument in 1995. Whereas the architects of the local Ole Hagen office toget-
1 Empfang • Reception 4 Bistro • Bistro
2 Konferenzraum • Meeting Room 5 Private Dining • Private Dining her with conservator Anne Simonsen were in charge of the renovation in line with the
3 Büro • Office 6 WC • WC monument-protection authorities, Britt Christiansen and Mikkel Küster were commissio-
4 Flexibles Büro • Flex Space 7 Innenhof • Courtyard
ned with the utilization concept and the future use of the areas. With their Makwärk agen-
cy, they specialize in creating and maintaining complete interior concepts and now act as
co-operators of the rentable office areas with all-round service. The result is a location full
of surprises where the history can still be felt while the present time has arrived. On four
levels and in addition to offices of different sizes with a total of 140 workstations, the
Brønnums Hus Office Club now offers the complete infrastructure necessary for working:
reception, secretarial service, conference rooms with catering, a bistro where meals are
prepared every day and zones with coffee- and beverage stations. Inspired by the existing
Das Dachgeschoss birgt großzügige Konferenzräume. • The top floor has spacious conference rooms. fabric, references to its history are found all over the building – in addition to the stucco
and the original building components. This is because the designers used them to create
their theme worlds which, differently interpreted on each floor, are reflected in the designs
of the walls and the floors as well as in the selection of the furniture, the luminaires and
the colours. An upscale club atmosphere had been requested where the members from a
wide variety of sectors are stimulated to communicate and feel good right from the start.

The suitable workstation for everyone

The reception is in the central room with an oval layout on the first upper floor whose
shape is repeated on the two levels above it and which everywhere serves as a meeting-
and distribution point. On the arrival level, elegant, muted colours prevail which become
increasingly brighter and more cheerful on the way to the top floor. Coffee- and beverage
stations including seating areas are arranged in the oval rooms. Like in the lounge- and
bistro zones, this is where informal exchanges with the neighbour in the adjacent office
are automatically made. A highlight on the second upper level is the artistic wallpaper
from 1830 which, at the time, found its way from Japan into the posh parlour. Restorer
Anne Simonsen made a good job here: The formerly greying wall covering of embossed
leather layered with gold once again exudes elegance, while the colours of the wall- and
ceiling paintings in the adjacent room shine once more. The art lover Bernhard Hirsch -
sprung had commissioned the artists Thorvald Niss and Gotfred Rump with painting sce-
neries from the family’s country estate onto the wall. During meetings, the view of the cei-
ling decorated with butterflies is more likely to induce to dream than to develop concepts.
And on the floor above, sophisticated art is also to be discovered: On the walls, artist
Mette Boesgaard created her own modern interpretation of the dancing ballerinas from
Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake as a homage to the nearby ballet whose dancers used to practice
pirouettes in these rooms. The patterns of the printed carpets also originated in coopera-
tion with the artist who individually focused on each level and the signs of the times found
there. On the formerly neutral top floor, the decision was made in favour of an expressive
carpet collection by the British designer Tom Dixon which in turn adds the certain some-
thing to the open-plan rooms from where a magnificent view of the city can be enjoyed.
Since September, there is now also again new life in the legendary Café Brønnum on the
ground floor. The operators already manage two internally renowned cocktail bars in the
city – Ruby and Lidkoeb – whose success speaks for itself. Maybe the artists and the actors
will come again and, while drinking something, mingle with the entrepreneurs from the
offices above them who are guaranteed to be among the guests.

168 • AIT 10.2016