the Vision of BispeBjerg Bakke - Realdania Byg

makes the building organic”. The idea was
to create the sensation of going for a walk
in the woods when moving about at Bispebjerg
Bakke. ”When you walk along a
square building, you have to go round it,
but here we wanted to create a sensation
of walking among the trees”, says Nørgaard.
And the building does make you think
of natural elements. The relatively slim,
brick columns that rise upwards along the
whole building look like trees, and the entire
building undulates in a movement that
more than anything resembles that of a
wave. And because each module is turned
at its own angle, you can stand at one end
of the snake and look almost directly at
another module in the same snake. This
gives a sensation of never quite knowing
where you are in the snake – each spot in
the building offers another way to look at
it. Another motif from the Nørrebro blocks
appears at Bispebjerg Bakke: The mix of
yellow and red bricks. ”In the old days
they used red bricks on the street side of
the building and yellow bricks towards the
yard, because yellow ones were cheaper”,
says Bjørn Nørgaard. ”And in the Northwest
neighbourhood both colours of bricks are
represented. Here you can find yellow
stones on the blocks along Tagensvej and
on Grundtvig’s Church and red bricks on
for example Bispebjerg Hospital and the
church yard wall. We brought that mix to
Bispebjerg Bakke. I also wanted two colours,
because red bricks can seem heavy
on their own”. At Bispebjerg Bakke, yellow
and red bricks are used next to each other,
so the façade alternates between the two
colours. Bispebjerg Bakke is not only inspired
by the history of the area. Even though
it is so different, the building is actually in
keeping with the Danish architectural tradition,
where light is essential. ”It is very
important to us in the north to get the sun
into our homes. We want both a view and
lots of light. And these considerations are
also incorporated in the design of Bispebjerg
Bakke”, says Jesper Holm. The red
and yellow buildings have been equipped
with tall windows that make the buildings
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