A city within a city

In the colourful Christianshavn district of Copenhagen, Denmark’s largest children’s institution has opened, but by organising the built-up area into smaller and very diverse units, Børnebyen Christianshavn feels like a self-contained city on a small scale.

Børnebyen Christianshavn occupies a triangular plot on Prinsessegade in central Copenhagen. The 710 children attending the institution are aged 0 to 15, and go to either the nursery, kindergarten or after-school recreational club – but together the buildings form a single community with its own identity. COBE and NORD Architects were behind the project, which was inaugurated in 2016.

The premises cover a total area of approx. 4,600 square metres, making it the biggest daycare institution in Denmark. ‘Børnebyen’ is Danish for ‘kids’ city’, and like in real cities, Børnebyen Christianshavn has its own city gate, fire station, restaurant, squares and city hall.

The city hall is a large multi-purpose hall, which is used extensively by both the kindergarten and the after-school club. Troldtekt ceilings ensure superior acoustics throughout the centre.

 

Colours and surfaces

The city gate is yellow, while the ‘fire station’ is red. The facades are made of wood, metal, brick and glass. A varied and diverse mix of materials and colours mimics that of a small city, where everything has a function and its own special place. The playgrounds and green areas fill the gaps between the buildings, forming a coherent outdoor space, which is an important aspect of everything that Børnebyen has to offer. The buildings have numerous large window sections and patios etc. that link the interior and exterior environments.

The children’s institutions are adorned by the children’s own creative activities, while the interior design is more functional. The ceilings are mainly clad in Troldtekt acoustic panels in natural wood or white-painted as a recurring material on the various floors and in the various buildings. Troldtekt panels dampen the reverberation time, and in so doing ensure good acoustics, not least in the double-height rooms. In addition, Troldtekt acoustic panels with their attractive surfaces blend in beautifully with the rest of the palette of textures and materials used.