storkens administration and supply yard
Architect:
Vandkunsten Architects
Year:
2016
Location:
Storkens Neighbourhood, Albertslund Syd, Denmark
In this new neighbourhood, the almen housing development property owner Albertslund Syd’s objective was to bring together employees, administration, and maintenance machines. Vandkunsten was commissioned for the project and proposed a robust and beautiful wooden building consisting entirely of surfaces in wood, liberating the employees to focus on the tenants of the 1000 almene atrium houses that comprise Albertslund Syd.
The layout organizes the building around an access hall extended along the east facade. The building is compartmentalized into three units with separate entrances: 1. tenant purposed functions, 2. employee facilities and 3. board facilities. Storage space is integrated into the access hall’s wall and connected as larger spaces to the room’s entrances. All the units have access to a shared, sheltered terrace facing the courtyard.
The building is organized into three main sections depending on their heating needs: 1. workshop and exchange central (heated to average temperature), 2. garage, car wash, storage (heated to be above freezing temperature), and 3. oil/chemistry (unheated, though sheltered).
The administration expands on the north-south axis of the plot, partly to accommodate all functions, partly to be visible from Fuldbrovej as it is used for the entire housing association and should be visible and accessible for all the units. The workshop is located towards the south. A terrace for staff and board members sits between the gabled roof of the workshop and the administration. A porch-like structure facing the courtyard complements the facade of the administration building. The existing entrance to the area for cars and trucks has been preserved.
The Storkens Neighbourhood, Administration and Supply Yard by Vandkunsten Architects is an example of New Wood Open Architecture. It uses prefabricated wood construction to create a flexible and robust structure that meets the current and ongoing needs of Storkens Neighborhood development. The project is elegantly ordered and intuitive by rigorously imposing a primary structural grid using panelized prefab construction. Standardized wood panels are manufactured off-site and delivered to the final site for fast and efficient assembly. This pre-production reduces the total on-site time, delivering a high degree of accuracy and rigidity between components. The modularity and replicability of these panels allow future expansion if additional space is needed.
The structure further represents flexibility. The asymmetrical sloped roof spans from sidewall to sidewall, granting non-load-bearing interior walls, freeing the plan from structural constraints and permitting various interior layouts. This flexibility makes for a highly resilient architecture that meets the current programmatic needs but is also adaptable if these needs change in the future. The precise zoning of temperature qualities adds to the energy efficiency of the building concept.
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