Kampanilen: Copper-Clad Clock Tower at Aarhus Ø

Can people live inside a gigantic clock tower? The answer is yes. Danish architects BIG have created a twisting building, Kampanilen at Aarhus Ø, that deliberately plays with the concept of time.

Located at Aarhus Ø, amidst dense city blocks and canals, just behind the lively Bassin 7 area with its restaurants, cafés, and harbor bath, stands Kampanilen. The 19-story building stands out in more than one way. With its 75 apartments and a ground-floor café, it’s not just a place to live and enjoy coffee. It also offers the neighborhood’s residents and visitors the chance to check the time on the largest clock hands of any clock in Europe.  

The name comes from the Italian word for a freestanding bell tower: campanile. BIG, the architects behind Kampanilen, used “time” as both a concept and a design element – down to the choice of materials.

A Facade that Reflects the Passage of Time

The building is clad in copper, which, upon its inauguration in 2022, gleamed with a reddish-brown facade. However, within just six months, it began to change color and appearance. This choice of material embeds the concept of time into the building itself, as copper is known to transform over time – as we know from older buildings, spires, and towers.  

Aarhus Cathedral, located less than a kilometer from Aarhus Ø, has aged into a fully green patina. How quickly Kampanilen might undergo a similar transformation depends on the amount of sulfur dioxide in the air – hopefully, it will take many years before this occurs.

Twisting Tower and Octagonal Columns  

The concrete in Kampanilen was cast in-situ, meaning it was poured and set on-site. This is visible inside the apartments, where the ceilings showcase raw concrete, complemented by octagonal columns. The tower twists 45 degrees halfway up. This design not only allows the building to fit seamlessly into the narrow streets between neighboring structures but also optimizes the views from its upper levels. The top floors offer vistas of Aarhus city, the harbor basin, or the northern forest area of Risskov.

Thoughtful or Overly Conceptual?  

Is creating such a prominent clock tower a imaginative way to give back to the surroundings? Or does it contribute to the criticism often aimed at Aarhus Ø, where buildings are accused of competing for attention with architecture that is either overly conceptual or self-indulgent? That’s for each person to decide.

This balance between imaginative and overly thought-out architecture is something to ponder over at the exclusive coffee bar located on the ground floor. From there, you can observe the life unfolding in the small streets surrounding Kampanilen – or take a stroll, either towards the canal to the north or the harbor to the south.