RIBA Awards 2013

Placing the accountancy firm KPMG’s new Danish Headquarters on the “Revygrunden” (revue site) between Dirch Passers Boulevard and the metro entrance at Flintholm Station has its great advantages; one of which is that it brings life and activity to the city district during the day, when residents of the area are at work. This way the constellation of business and trade mixed with dwellings forms a symbiosis. This new major workplace also strengthens the area around Flintholm Station, which benefits from the increased flow of people.

KPMG’s domicile represents that last piece that completes the area; and the workplace enters into a strong unity with the surroundings in all directions: The west-facing cultural plaza with the culture house; the southern plaza, Margurity Vibys Plads, with the cafés and eateries etc.; the green belt facing east; and the metro in the northern direction. The main shape of the domicile is also created with these surroundings in mind. Also facing Dirch Passers Boulevard, the new domicile forms a link to three cityscapes at the same time – the Boulevard and the two plazas – and interconnects them to the green belt facing east. The ground floor shops and other businesses facing the Boulevard creates an actual shopping flow along the façade. Altogether, KPMG’s domicile contributes to a concentration of the neighbourhood and to making the area much more lively and friendly.

The entire building is situated on an elevated base. The flower-shape of the building solves the well-know problem associated with huge office buildings: they can often seem rather confusing, difficult to navigate in and thus easy to get lost in. Here, the flower-shape divides the building into smaller sections and in the core of the flower the individual loops are interconnected creating a natural centre. Compared to a regular massive and dominating box-shaped building volume, the flower-shape makes for an interesting change and brings a lighter and airier sense of space to the neighbourhood.

The building is constructed with a deep focus on sustainability at all levels from design to construction, choice of materials and lifespan. Thus for one, the level of energy consumption is reduced to a mere minimum close to zero by controlling the inflow of light, by heat regulation through the use of an active façade with solar screening, by angling the building according to daylight and by a strategic orientation of the interior office space also accordingly.