årstiderne arkitekter transforms from royal post office into vibrant business center

respecting its history and original architecture, danish studio årstiderne arkitekter has redeveloped the former post office postgården in central copenhagen. today, the iconic building has been re-established as a central and vibrant destination – a business house offering attractive shops, leasehold offices and 800 workplaces. at the same time, a building has been created which now opens up to the outside world, breathing new life into the surrounding cityscape.

postgården is an example of how, through careful renovation and by employing simple yet bold measures, it is possible to transform a closed historic property in the center of copenhagen into a vibrant and welcoming building that now opens up onto the street and plays an active role in the life of the city. over the years, several adjoining buildings were acquired and extensions added, so that the postgården complex now counts ten buildings from different eras, and almost occupies a complete block. in the course of a three-year process, årstiderne arkitekter has carefully renovated and revitalized the former post office’s 16,000 square meters.

‘postgården is located on one of the busiest shopping streets in copenhagen, but with its closed facades and high windows, it has up until now had its back turned to the city. the vision for the project has therefore been to open up the block and invite the public inside. the project involved taking a well-known site in copenhagen – originally a workplace for several hundred people – and re-establishing it as a central address for shops and offices,’ says mikkel westfall, creative director and partner of the studio.

in renovating postgården, a conscious decision was made not to completely change the look of the building. through studying the old drawings, the building’s qualities have been preserved, and while respecting its architecture and history, it has been sensitively adapted to meet modern requirements, including improved and level-free access from the street to all tenancies on the ground floor. some parts of the complex dating from 1729 are listed, and here the facades and interiors have been carefully restored while respecting their heritage value.

the main architectural thrust has been to open up the introverted property towards the city with large, open storefronts on the ground floor. on the other floors, spacious leasehold offices have been established with plenty of natural daylight, while the roof levels have been enlarged and turned into common recreational outdoor areas for the building’s employees.

project info:

location: central copenhagen, denmark

realized: 2017

purpose: business (retail and offices)

area: 16,000 m2

architects: årstiderne arkitekter

engineers: ekj rådgivende ingeniører

client: pfa ejendomme

client advisors: jan stokholm and ncc construction

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edited by: maria erman | designboom