Nykredit is one of the largest financial corporations in modern Denmark, Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects is one of the most famous Danish bureaus in the world, so their happy union, one might say, was a foregone conclusion. In particular, it was SHL who built a new headquarters for Nykredit in 2003 - an ambitious harbor complex designed as a rectangular glass arch with a giant atrium suspended from the central bar. For its advantageous location near the water and its symbolic shape, the Nykredit building was nicknamed “the gateway to Copenhagen,” but just seven years later, the company outgrew it. The financiers needed additional space, and the corporation's management again turned to Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects.
For the construction of its new office, the company acquired a plot in the immediate vicinity of the headquarters. In fact, the new building is located behind the existing one, however, not directly behind it, but slightly to the right, thanks to which it is clearly visible from the water, despite the fact that formally this is already the second building line. The architects found this placement extremely attractive, and from the very beginning they were focused on giving the volume a dynamic and iconic form. Initially, the main material was also clear - as in the case of the company's headquarters, this is glass, symbolizing both the "advanced" Nykredit and the transparency of its activities.
But if last time the composition of the complex was based on a rectangle, now the architects experimented with a rhombus. Thanks to this, the building in many ways got its self-explanatory name - from afar, especially from the water, it really looks most like a crystal. The most interesting thing is that the base also repeats the zigzag shape of the roof - in fact, the building is supported by several V-shaped supports, and a pedestrian space is organized under it, reliably sheltered from the weather by expressive triangular consoles.
The typical floor has the shape of the letter Z in the plan - this allowed the architects to place as many as two atriums in the building and at the same time to separate study rooms, meeting rooms and conference rooms at different ends. The building uses the most advanced green technologies, making it one of the record holders for low energy consumption (25 percent less than current Danish regulations). In particular, the double façade system and special glass prevent the office complex from overheating in the summer and overcooling in the winter, and the diamond-shaped roof sheathed with solar panels practically provides its electricity demand.
A. M.
