Groundbreaking for Pioneering Timber Building in Copenhagen

With a groundbreaking ceremony led by Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Housing Kaare Dybvad Bek, construction has officially begun at Marmormolen. The eight-story structure will be Copenhagen’s largest timber building when completed, and brings a new take on sustainability and aesthetics to the innovative Nordhavn neighborhood.

Representatives from Henning Larsen, client AP Pension, and By & Havn attended and spoke at the event held on March 21, 2022, focusing largely on the project’s sustainable ambitions.

“It is crucial that the development of Copenhagen goes in a direction where sustainability and circularity are key benchmarks,” explained By & Havn CEO Anne Skovbro. “This is an area that we look forward to helping shape in the coming years, where more buildings will focus on using wood as a common material."

Images by By & Havn

From left: Peter Olsson (AP Ejendomme), Anne Skovbro (By & Havn), Minister of the Interior and Housing, Kaare Dybvad Bek and Halldór Ragnarsson (Pihl-Konsortiet)

The building materials of the future:

The 36-meter wooden building intends to be a prototype for future timber structures. With a structure consisting of solid wood, the materials help to absorb and store CO2, instead of secreting it, as with the use of, for example, concrete. The office property will thus be one of Denmark's largest wooden buildings when it is expected to be completed in 2025.

A choice of materials that pleases the Minister of the Interior and Housing, Kaare Dybvad Bek.

“It is fantastic to experience the great commitment from the industry and the willingness to take the lead in the green transition - especially when it also comes to challenging our old building traditions,” said Dybvad Bek. “It is not often that buildings are built high with wood as the main element in Denmark, but with projects like this, awareness is created that it is possible to make other choices than the ones we usually do.”

The construction is expected to be completed in 2025.

The team consists of AP Ejendomme (client), Henning Larsen (lead architect and lead landscape architect), Ramboll (engineer), and Pihl-konsortiet (contractor).