Project: Conversion of a Copenhagen Warehouse
Architects: Studio David Thulstrup
Location: Sturlasgade, Copenhagen, Denmark
Area: 500.0 sqm
Photographs: Peter Krasilnikoff
The renowned photographer Peter Krasilnikoff commissioned architecture practice Studio David Thulstrup for his private residence and studio in the Islands Brygge harbour-side district of Copenhagen. The guiding inspiration for the project evolved from worn-out warehouses and factories with their blackened steel and old bricks; a concept direction which was sparked by the desire to retain the three raw-brick walls of the original garage building on the site.
Retaining the brick walls which sit to the boundary of the narrow site, revealed the challenge of permitting light into the new building structure. The task was solved by a simple gesture with a slight twist.
A glass-walled atrium was dropped down through the center of the building volume and floods all three floors of the residence with natural light. The atrium contains expanses of dark mirror paneling creating the appearance of a far larger internal space and enhanced lighting effect. Specially selected greenery has been planted in a manner of a natural Scandinavian woodland. The atrium is the central green heart of the house.
All planning of the residence is structured around this central atrium. On the ground floor is the entrance, open-plan kitchen, dining room and sitting room. In these areas raw poured concrete contrasts blackened steel paneling and the original raw brick walls. Accents in color and texture are added with a bespoke terrazzo kitchen and floor-to-ceiling dark navy and intense aubergine velvet curtains from Kvadrat.
Cladding the atrium, wall paneling of natural Dinesen oak hint at the atmosphere of the upper levels. Layered upon this, the central staircase of perforated blackened steel guides to the first floor. The materiality of the ground floor is softened in contrast here with light oak walls and floors, curtains and a terrazzo-lined bathroom in a soft grey hue.
As a special feature, a glass-walled “roof-room” opens up towards a richly planted terrace and directs the view to the unconventional architectural treatment of the facade. The entire building is covered by a cladding of vertical strips from Brazilian hardwood. The material will slowly weather to a pale silvery grey over time, a gesture which perfectly mirrors the central philosophy of Studio David Thulstrup. Every building is created especially for the needs and imagination of the particular client. The work of the practice oscillates between a constructive architectural and material-based interior design approach, by integrating refined ideas of new materiality and bespoke pieces of furniture into a spatial vision.
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