the Vision of BispeBjerg Bakke - Realdania Byg

that he would have to compromise on the
curved, organic surfaces of the building if
the walls were to be built using industrial
production methods. Unfortunately, there
was no turning back; alternative solutions
had to be found. In fact, the transition
from a building exclusively constructed
by craftsmen to a collaboration between
craft and industry put pressure on all those
involved, forcing them to think creatively.
As Flemming Borreskov explains:
“People under pressure either give up or
have to work harder to find a solution.
When we finally realised what it would
cost to build without industrial sections,
we began to consider using concrete.
Bjørn Nørgaard wouldn’t hear of it. In the
end, though, we succeeded in convincing
him and Jesper Holm, partly because the
indoor climate is just as good when using
concrete and partly because you can’t see
that the walls are not full-brick. When the
walls are rendered, the full-brick and the
concrete areas look alike, so the building
had the appearance Bjørn Nørgaard had
been looking for all the time. However,
no sooner had we convinced Nørgaard
and Holm, before NCC announced that
they could not make concrete sections
that curve in more than one direction!
As we were under pressure, we just said:
‘Give it a go!’, and so they just kept on
trying”.
Digital success
As traditional craft methods were supplemented
by industrial methods during the
building process, a whole range of innovative
digital solutions had to be worked
out. As it had been accepted that not everything
could be done by hand, industry
had to step in to support handicraft to get
the job done. It was quite a challenge to
get concrete twisting and turning to follow
the lines of the Bispebjerg snake, and
it was here that the latest digital technology
was worth its weight in gold. Poul
Erik Haurbæk explains: “We have achieved
what we call ‘building without measure’.
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