GXN, 3XN’s green innovation unit, is the architect of the 150m2 meeting pavilion that will be a movable spearhead for developing the construction industry in a more sustainable direction. The technology and design of the pavilion, developed in collaboration with engineers from COWI, Cradle 2 Cradle® Denmark and others, point towards a future where buildings contribute positively to the environment.

The solar cells integrated in the roof are angled so that they are exploited most efficiently. Together with a heat pump producing three times the heat energy it consumes in electrical power energy, the solar cells ensure that the building has a surplus of energy.

The materials used in the pavilion are either 100 % biological degradable or recyclable. Among the degradable materials are bio-composites, which are building blocks, made out of for example flax or hemp. Well known building materials like steel and glass are also used as they can be recycled and therefore would not turn into waste if the pavilion some day is demolished. The C2C Pavilion is an on-going project, meaning that the pavilion is to be continuously improved as new inventions within sustainable building come about.

GXN was established in 2007 as an internal division of Danish architectural practice 3XN, and has since day one been working with applied architectural research in green materials and building technologies. The ‘G’ stands for Green, highlighting GXN’s dedication to ecological design research through digital processes and innovative material solutions. GXN competencies span over architecture and design projects, research and innovation and external consultancy. Read the rest of this entry »

As they state in 3XN Architects, Green School Stockholm, Sweden, is a new type of school with a modern approach to sustainable living. By actively educating about locally grown food, and by creating a multitude of green exterior public spaces, the building encompasses a full lifetime of sustainable living: from kindergarten to high school, college dorms to senior apartments.

The building is formed by two adjoining arcs – the green school and accompanying greenhouse constitute the public arc and allow for internal and external circulation through the building with the vegetation growing all around. Nine levels of housing for students and seniors twist, slide and shift to create wide private terraces and maximum daylight exposure.

Wide atriums open up the green school to accommodate spontaneous learning. This green pathway through the school culminates with a large greenhouse as the focal point. The greenhouse encompasses three enclosed levels for maximum productive growing and extends upwards with hanging gardens and vertical farming alongside the student and senior residences.

The inside public area houses an organic food store, where the organically grown vegetables from the greenhouse are sold. The Green School’s kindergarten is located directly adjacent to a birch grove. Here, the children get their own safe oasis. With the green terraces outside the building, allowing pedestrians to ascend and move from the lower northern side of the site up and across the street to the higher southern side, the building becomes a productive extension of the planned green corridor for the area as well as an avenue for the public. Read the rest of this entry »

The new regional head office of the United Nations is designed with clear references to the UN’s identity and values; it is a building that physically reaches out to all parts the world, while the sculptural staircase in its core reflects the UN’s work to create global dialogue.

Bringing together the various agencies and functions of the United Nations regional offices in Copenhagen, the new UN City is located at Marmormolen (The Marble Pier) north of Copenhagen’s city center. 3XN’s design is a response to the UN’s wishes for an iconic building expressing the organization’s values and authority. It reflects the independent, efficient and professional nature of each UN unit. Located on an artificial island the building is naturally separated from its immediate surroundings, while still being highly visible from both the city and the water. Read the rest of this entry »

Plassen, by Danish Architects 3XN is a project aimed at utilizing folded and cut paper formal techniques in order to create a literal city square- a Gørvellplassen- in Molde, Norway. ‘Plassen,’ meaning ‘square’ or ‘place’ in Norwegian, uses this folding and cutting approach towards surface to create a continuous relationship between the floor and roof, inside and outside. This results in  an efficient and compact structure that not only encapsulates necessary program, but increases the overall usable space of  this public city square, challenging the traditionally horizontal nature of such a space. Read the rest of this entry »

The Blue Planet will be Northern Europe’s largest and most modern aquarium. Architecturally, the aquarium is shaped like a whirlpool, giving associations to eddies of fish, birds and sea currents. The building site is in Copenhagen, at the island of Amager, right at the coast of Øresund, north of Kastrup Havn, close to the Copenhagen Airport, and viewed from a plane the whirlpool shape  will be shown in full. Approaching on the ground, one will experience the building as floating in a circular reflection pool, and a walk through its interior is a travel through several organic worlds. The solution also takes into account that the aquarium can later be expanded. The building’s gross area is 9,000 m2 plus outdoor facilities of 2,000 m2 plus parking. Read the rest of this entry »

Located 5 km south of Utrecht, the city of Nieuwegein was given a new city hall that will address the demands of the rapidly growing population. Along with administrative functions, the new building will also serve as a cultural center, acting as a catalyst for social affiliation with the city. It was designed by the Danish practice 3XN.

Description from the architects:

A Multi-functional House

The ‘Stadshuis’ – City Hall – of Nieuwegein mix traditional city hall features of offices and service with a library, a multi-cultural centre, and commercial facilities. In this way, the city hall becomes a part of the everyday life of the town. This creates life in the building all day and strengthens the connection to the commercial and residential area surrounding the building. Read the rest of this entry »

Danish practice 3XN is the architect behind a new experimental conference center and hotel where everything is adapted to the circulation of nature and where guests will get an idea of how it feels to live in a world without waste.

No waste
The Green Solution House conference center on the Danish island of Bornholm is designed and developed in accordance with the principles of Cradle 2 Cradle®. This means that all materials used in the building are either fully recyclable or biodegradable. Hence, the building design takes on the ambition to eliminate the concept of waste.

The project is managed by Kasper Guldager Jørgensen, head of 3XN’s innovation unit, GXN: In Denmark, the construction industry alone is responsible for 30% of all waste generated. Waste that puts an enormous burden on the environment, but with Green Solution House we demonstrate that this is a problem, which we can actually solve. Read the rest of this entry »

(c) Philip Hanforth

The new Museum of Liverpool, opening on July 19th will not only tell the story of its importance as one of the World’s great ports or about its cultural influence, such as with the Beatles phenomenon. It will also serve as a meeting point for History, the People of Liverpool and visitors from around the globe. Therefore, according to the Architect, Kim Herforth Nielsen, the structure functions as much more than just a Building or a Museum.

As the largest National Museum to be built in the UK in over 100 years, and situated on a UNESCO World Heritage Site next to Liverpool’s famous ’Three Graces,’ Principal Architect and Creative Director at 3XN Kim Herforth Nielsen was fully aware of the magnitude of the challenge, when it came to designing the new Museum of Liverpool. Read the rest of this entry »

With a relaxed, yet stylish interior strategy for the Bella Sky Hotel’s rooms, reception and conference rooms, 3XNs design aims were to give guests the impression of arriving at a tasteful Scandinavian home.

The Best from Nordic traditions

‘Although Bella Sky is the Nordic region’s largest hotel, we have done everything to ensure that the hotel doesn’t give the typical impersonal and formal feeling that so often defines large hotels,’ says 3XN Architects’ founder and partner, Kim Herforth Nielsen. ‘Therefore, we decided to interpret the overall theme as New Nordic Cool. We looked at how Scandinavians approach the design of their homes, how they live – and then chose the best of our design tradition for the Bella Sky Hotel. Key words for us were simplicity, functionality and high quality, both in design and materials.’

Therefore anything synthetic was banned in the selection of materials for the hotel’s 814 rooms. Carpets are in wool, bed sheets in high thread count cottons, and there is a prevailing use of natural materials such as smoked oak and leather found throughout the décor. The smokey colour palette gives the rooms warmth and at the same time creates references to the Nordic nature, which is evident from the hotel views over the nature park, ‘Amager Common.’ Read the rest of this entry »

The opening of Scandinavia’s largest hotel symbolizes not only the identity of the modern Ørestad area of Copenhagen, but also marks the Capital’s increasing importance on the international convention and congress scene. The sculptural profile and visibility of the hotel from the various corners of Copenhagen make it an architectural landmark which will draw many visitors to the Ørestad neighbourhood.

With its 814 rooms and 30 conference rooms, the Comwell Bella Sky Hotel offers a wealth of new accommodation and resources for the Bella Convention and Congress Center in Copenhagen. In future this will draw an even larger segment of the international world class conferences and events to Copenhagen. 3XN has designed the Bella Sky Hotel to create a distinct new profile on the Copenhagen skyline, with the two towers reaching up 76,5 meters, and leaning out at a staggering 15 degrees in each direction (11 degrees more than the leaning tower of Pisa). This results in a sculptural building unique in Copenhagen which has started drawing many curious looks from all over the city.

‘We have knowingly worked towards designing a building unlike anything else in Copenhagen – And we did that because Ørestad, which is a new city neighbourhood is also unlike any other place in Copenhagen. Bella Sky is designed specifically to reflect the identity of Ørestad, contributing in a positive manner,’ says Kim Herforth Nielsen, Principal and Founder of 3XN.

3XN has also designed a large portion of the interior, and in that regard has aimed to differentiate itself from other hotels. Read the rest of this entry »