Maersk Tower

This 74-meter copper tower houses the University of Copenhagen’s medical sciences faculties in state-of-the-art surroundings designed to strengthen research. The facade’s 3,300 copper plates hide more functions than you can see with the naked eye.

Over the roofs of Nørrebro’s old red brick buildings, Mærsk Tårnet’s luminous copper-and-glass façade shines as a beacon of Denmark’s commitment to sustainable biomedical research.

This organic, triangular-shaped addition to the University of Copenhagen’s Panum rises 75 metres from a four-pronged base of classrooms, a canteen, an auditorium and a foyer.

Flexibly accommodating laboratories and offices for six of the Faculty of Heath and Medical Sciences’ institutes, it has an open atrium and a ‘Science Plaza’ on each floor. These are designed to draw communities together – between disciplines, fields and the city. The building’s glass façade signals the faculty’s transparency to people at street level, showing off the atrium’s vast oak laminate corkscrew staircase, and affording its upper floors citywide views.

With so much glass, smart energy solutions are key, so a third of Mærsk Tårnet’s 3,300 copper shutters shift in response to the sun, helping to reduce the energy required to cool the building’s interior. Its fixed shutters also work with its curved-off corners to reduce the effect of wind.

Green areas are tucked between the tower, the Panum and neighbouring St. Johnannes Church. A 300-metre floating walkway connects Nørre Allé with Blegdamsvej to offer a treetop perspective of the city.