Danish Crown’s headquarters reinterprets the three-winged farmstead

In Randers, Danish Crown has built a new headquarters that unites the past and future in an office building of no less than 13,000 square metres. The Troldtekt line design solution in natural wood interacts harmoniously with the building’s supporting design features: the yellow masonry on the inside and out.

Randers has a new architectural gem. Danish Crown has built a headquarters that is difficult to ignore. The food producer needed more space and better meeting facilities, and calculations showed that it was more cost-effective to build a new building than to completely renovate the existing ones.

The project was launched in 2020, and the 13,000 square metre headquarters was built on the company’s own property, where an administration building already existed. By late summer 2023, the final details were in place, and employees were able to move into an office building that is both DGNB Gold and DGNB Heart certified, the latter of which relates to the health and well-being of people in the building.

The project was designed by CEBRA Architecture.

Inspiration from classic Danish farmsteads

The inspiration for the design of the building comes from Danish Crown’s 130-year history, which is closely linked to Danish agriculture. The architectural design is a modern interpretation of the classic Danish, three-winged farmstead.

The office building consists of three staggered wings, with courtyards between each wing. The three wings are joined at one end, where the main entrance is located along with several communal facilities, including a canteen, fitness centre, show kitchen for companies and schoolchildren, and a butcher shop for employees.

The communal areas form a natural hub that connects the entire building, including vertically, through the open bridges and staircases. There are four floors in total, and all floors and wings consist of different types of spaces and work zones: private meeting rooms, individual and group workplaces, coffee areas and social meeting zones.

Danish Crown’s new office building is connected to the old building via a glass corridor, which also serves as a communal greenhouse.

Troldtekt in conjunction with other materials

To add character to the building, it was built in solid masonry with yellow and light, natural tones that create an interplay of colours depending on the weather, and with areas where protruding bricks form horizontal lines on the facade. The same design is repeated throughout the interior of the building.

The building faces north to make the best possible use of daylight indoors without overheating the building. There is also a focus on a healthy indoor climate and healthy materials. Everything is kept in the same natural tones – bricks, concrete floors, wood strips and Troldtekt acoustic panels in natural wood, which were chosen for all of the ceilings.

There are different variants of Troldtekt acoustic panels throughout the building. The award-winning Troldtekt line design solution in natural wood blends harmoniously with the brickwork in the many open areas, walkways and offices.

"Troldtekt line was a perfect match for the broken bond brickwork, while at the same time creating a good acoustic environment. The natural colour also matches the brick, so it was a bit of a no-brainer for us," says Mikkel Frost, architect and partner at CEBRA Architecture.

In addition, classic Troldtekt acoustic panels and Troldtekt installed in a T-profile system were also chosen. Troldtekt solutions help ensure good acoustics and a comfortable sound environment for the many employees throughout the building.

Healthy working environment

During the construction of the new headquarters, there was a focus on the health and well-being of employees, which is why the Danish Crown building is also DGNB Heart certified.

The building’s physical structure supports a social and activity-based working environment and, in addition to a healthy indoor climate, there are also views of fields and green areas throughout the building. Outdoors, a path system with scenic routes provides a great setting for a walk and talk, jogging and other communal activities, such as around the communal greenhouse and garden area.