From obsolete industrial building to energy efficient culture centre ROCKWOOL Group breathes new life into a tired building. The Culture and Community Centre in Valhalsgade, Copenhagen, has undergone a much needed refurbishment.
The building was originally an administration and storage facility for Osram, the light bulb manufacturer, but since the mid-eighties it has been used as a local Culture and Community Centre. Now, a major renovation has transformed the building from a shabby and obsolete industrial property into a modern, energy efficient Culture and Community Centre whilst maintaining visible references to its proud past as an iconic commercial site. The renovation includes the use of several ROCKWOOL products, including ROCKWOOL insulation, ROCKPANEL boards and ROCKFON ceilings.
Energy saving and innovative architecture The renovation has resulted in significantly lower energy consumption at Osramhouse. Effective insulation measures, new windows, and solar panels have reduced the total energy consumption by approximately 60 percent. However insulating a building with a partially historic facade has been something of a challenge, explains architect and project manager for the City of Copenhagen's urban renewal efforts in Haraldsgade district Birgitte Kortegaard: "The facade is very typical of its time and has a number of iconic features which had to be retained. It was necessary to keep the windows which, together with a glass mosaic above the original entrance, give the building its architectural identity. Where feasible the inner walls have been insulated with 300mm of ROCKWOOL insulation and the entire building has been fitted with a ROCKFON ceiling solution. The ROCKFON ceilings serve an important acoustic purpose as the newly renovated Osramhouse will host both musical and dance performances.
A new shimmering and light-emitting facade Faced with the prospect of the back entrance of the building being the new main entrance for the foreseeable future, naturally we had to find an architectural solution. We chose to insulate the facade with ROCKWOOL insulation and seal this with ROCKPANEL Chameleon boards in grey and green, as a beautiful contrast to the commercial building's old concrete," Birgitte Kortegaard explains. She continues: "We were able to make the old un-insulated walls thermally efficient. And from an architectural point of view, ROCKPANEL boards are more than just panels covering the insulation; they provide a unique aesthetic opportunity to play with light, shape and colour". The shimmering ROCKPANEL surface brings life to the facade, which appears to change colour depending on the direction of the sunlight and the angle from which you view the panels. In addition, the panels are graffiti resistant, a significant benefit in this district of Copenhagen.
From the backyard to the main entrance For the next seven years the courtyard facade will be the Centre's main entrance. Therefore it has been important for the architect to create a facade that not only harmonises with, but also provides a contrast to, the untouched and preserved part of the Osramhouse. In order to connect the historic facade of the building and the new facade facing the courtyard aesthetically, the ROCKPANEL boards have been etched with a pattern similar to that on the original concrete windows. Architect Birgitte Kortegaard underlines ROCKPANEL boards as a flexible solution: "In many ways ROCKPANEL reminds me of LEGO. Like the well-known bricks, it comes in a variety of colours and shapes which makes it possible to achieve a specific architectural expression."
