Firm： Henning Larsen

Type： Commercial › Office

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2013

SIZE： 500,000 sqft - 1,000,000 sqft

Photos： Jens Markus Lindhe (16)

The new Novo Nordisk corporate centre in Bagsværd will house the company’s top management and 1,100 administrative employees. The architecture is characterised by clean simple lines and offers the users a both functional and sustainable design.

The largest cylindrical office building covers six floors and a total of 32,500 m2 (including a 13,000 m2 underground car park). The building houses a number of shared functions. Its circular shape with no beginning and no end is a perfect picture of balance and focus and contributes to achieving a low energy consumption.

The design is inspired by the complex insulin molecule. The helix structures of the molecule have thus inspired the round shape of the building and the spiraling, inner staircase with dynamic, white balconies in the atrium.

The other wedge-shaped building rises up four floors and covers a total of 17,700 m2. It has its own unique expression and beautifully adapts to the hilly landscape.

The building relates to the adjacent circular building. The wedged geometry creates a continuous sequence of lower, polygonal buildings – staging the unifying centre, the circular main building.

Architecture should create a dynamic setting where people can meet – to create synergy between employees across professional fields and between employees and guests from all over the world. This has been the vision behind the design of the new corporate centre.