A new building is making a bold statement on the campus of the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, blending in and standing out at the same time with its unique façade and innovative interior layout for cutting-edge research.
The Technical Faculty (Faculty of Engineering) is part of the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) in Odense, and constitutes a shared research and education environment for four different institutes.
The building is designed as one big envelope consisting of 5 buildings connected by bridges at multiple levels crossing the heart of the complex, a “piece of furniture” containing common functions and meeting-rooms, and café/lounge areas. The many connections allow for more fluid boundaries, and more community and knowledge sharing.
Unique facade
The new Technical Faculty building adopts the materiality and site layout of the existing campus’ 1970s structuralist design by architects Krohn & Hartvig Rasmussen characterized by its linear layout and brutalist use of fair-faced concrete and weathered cor-ten steel cladding, but reinterprets their use and appearance to clearly set the building apart from the historic campus architecture.
The building is shrouded in an external screen or veil revealing and shading the transparent volume. The elegant and seemingly weightless screen is made from pre-fab panels of white CRC concrete (Compact Reinforced Composite, a special type of Fibre Reinforced High Performance Concrete with high strength) featuring circular openings with an underlying solar screen and natural ventilation.
Spectacular science
The four institutes sharing the building are conducting world-class research in various fields such as material and construction science, nano-optics, environmental sciences and robotics.
As a result, the building will house several spectacular pieces of equipment such a one of Denmark’s largest distillation plants, vibration-free and climate-controlled laser optics labs and a special ultra-high strength concrete slab for testing structural loads.
The 21.000 m2 complex is designed by C.F. Møller Architects in collaboration with Schønherr Landscape and engineers MOE for the Danish Universities & Building Agency and the University of Southern Denmark. The official inauguration will be at the start of the academic term in September. Source by C. F. Møller Architects.
Location: Odense, Denmark
Architects: C. F. Møller Architects
Engineering: MOE
Landscape: Schønherr Landskab
Area: 20000 m2 (of these 6.000 m² laboratories)
Year: 2015
Images: C. F. Møller Architects
Photographs: Joergen True, Courtesy of C. F. Møller Architects
