“Tscherninghuset” Company Offices

By Caterina Testa - 13 December 2024

The Danish family-run demolition company, Tscherning, has set itself the goal of becoming the country’s greenest company in the industry, and the refurbishing of its headquarters west of Copenhagen’s metropolitan area became an opportunity to make this a reality.

The architects at 3XN GXN commissioned with the project were enthusiastic right from the start about the idea of a new headquarters reusing materials and components from demolitions the company itself had carried out.

The project was also committed to making use of materials coming only from demolitions taking place in Denmark, a decision that impacted and guided the whole design process. As a result, the choice of materials and color schemes was built up gradually as elements from ongoing demolition sites were added to salvaged items already in hand. Brick walls were reused and fitted with wooden door and window frames; fragments of old industrial wooden floors were set alongside framed tiles, while concrete walls were juxtaposed with wooden beams warped by time. This unusual and unexpected medley brought into being a series of very different interior spaces to create a quite unique new company headquarters.

A major benefit deriving from the reuse of construction materials was the significantly lower environmental impact in terms of CO₂ emissions, estimated to have been reduced by about two-thirds per square meter compared to an identical project built with new materials.

As well as the environmental upside, the new Tscherning building prompts many layers of interpretation and complexity, revealing a range of deeper meanings. In architectural terms, using so many different textures and colors made it possible to create a series of different spatial experiences that suggested the use and function to be allocated to each area. Upon entering, employees and visitors are welcomed into a double-height atrium from where they can take in, at a glance, the...