The Society of Danish Engineers is based at Kalvebod Brygge. The building inaugurates the development of a new part of the city. The area, with its businesses, offices, restaurants and facilities, will shortly accommodate thousands of people.
The building is intended to be exemplary in design, operation, cost and technology – an expression of the character of the Society of Danish Engineers. The building's location, close to the sea, near the old part of Copenhagen, and its respect for Scandinavian architectural traditions, explain its sobriety.
IngeniØrhuset is a set of two buildings, accessed via a glazed, light suffused gallery. The buildings overlook the water, a source of inspiration and the main attraction of the edifice.
A reception hall serves all two buildings. The hall enables access to the conference hall and a glazed area to be used for meetings and exhibitions. A stairway leads to the conference hall and meeting rooms on the higher levels. Originally reserved for the Society, the facilities are now also used by private companies and government institutions.
Brick, glass and wood
The reinforced concrete structures are clad with red bricks, which are appropriate for the local climate, and also echo the historical architecture of Copenhagen. The roofs are covered with aluminium plates, fastened to a steel structure. The interior walls are made of painted concrete or gypsum. The industrial ceilings are made of gypsum. In the open sectors, they are made of aluminium. For the flooring, a hard fibre wood has been preferred.
Triple glazing units have been used in the entrance area and conference hall upstairs. The units comprise Pilkington Suncool™ Neutral high performance solar control glass as the outer pane, Pilkington Optifloat™ Clear middle pane and an inner pane of Pilkington Optitherm™ S. Both cavities were filled with krypton gas, enabling a Ug value of 0.6 W/m²K to be achieved. When combined with a light transmission of 46% and solar transmission of 35%, these high performance units allow people to sit close to the glass without the need for air-conditioning in summer or excessive heating in winter.
Pilkington Suncool™ double glazing has been used for all of the galleries, achieving a light transmission of 54%, solar transmission of 44% and Ug value of 1.3 W/m²K. In the offices, restaurant and meeting rooms, the insulating glass units comprise Pilkington Suncool™ Classic Grey, 15 mm argon filled cavity and Optitherm™ S. This yields a light and solar transmission of 27% and 24% respectively, Ug value of 1.1 W/m²K and light reflection of only 13%. On the façades and, in particular, apron wall panels, the use of Pilkington Suncool™ Classic Grey has enabled harmonisation of the façade to be achieved.
A durable environmental building
The construction achieves a series of environmental objectives: choice of materials, reduction in energy costs and environmental impacts during construction, interior comfort and quality of working conditions. The building proves that it is possible to combine good architecture and durable environmental solutions at a reasonable cost.
Note: Pilkington Suncool™ Neutral, Pilkington Suncool™ Classic and Pilkington Optitherm™ S are no longer manufactured, but they have been replaced by more advanced products from Pilkington Suncool™ and Pilkington Optitherm™ range.