The Arkitema House

New interpretation of the classic urban property.
Our own domicile is the result of an internal competition, and stood ready for occupation on 1 January 2003.

Address: Frederiksgade 32, DK-8000 Aarhus C
Size: 2,800 m²
Construction: 2002
Client: Arkitema
Architect: Arkitema
Engineer: COWI A/S
Client consultant: Bascon A/S
Building contractor: KPC-Byg A/S
Awards: Aarhus Municipality's diploma for high-quality and beautiful architecture, 2003

The architectural firm's new headquarters lies in Frederiksgade, Aarhus city centre, where properties of various ages stand side by side. The building itself is a new interpretation of the classic urban property, with architecture that relates to the urban scene by harmonising with the lines and heights of the existing buildings.

It is a deep building on a narrow site. On one side lies a four-storey property, while on the other, two smaller buildings enclose a small square. The drawing office resides on the three uppermost floors and the penthouse floor, while there are shops on the ground floor, as in the street's other properties.

The entrance is unpretentious. There is access to the building both from the Frederiksgade pedestrian street and from the rear courtyard of Bødker Balles Gård, where the rear of the building is suspended on pillars above a parking area. In both instances arrival occurs via a passage that connects the courtyard and the street, and which is integrated into the building's ground floor. The passage affords access to the main stairway, which leads up into the building. The true character of the building is only appreciated by the visitor on arrival at the first-floor foyer. The foyer forms part of a three-storey-tall atrium which links the building vertically. The atrium is centrally located in the deep building body, and light streams down into the heart of the building via the glass roof, which takes the form of pitched ridge lights.

A determining factor in the design of the building was the desire for the physical environment to strengthen the drawing office's project-oriented working methods and support its values of openness and inclusiveness, as well as its network-based knowledge culture. This wish is accommodated by the building's transparency and structure, with open workshop areas on the three office floors towards the street and courtyard. On these three floors, service functions such as kitchenettes, printer rooms and toilets are located in the central zone. On the two uppermost floors, glass meeting boxes protrude into the atrium. A canteen and roof terrace are located on the penthouse floor.

The use of materials such as concrete, pine and galvanised steel helps to create an informal atmosphere, making this a building that people dare to use. There are cement floors in the foyer area, gratings in the glass meeting boxes and undressed pine planks on the atrium wall. The raw surfaces form a contrast to the characteristic use of glass and the finely-formed details.