the Vision of BispeBjerg Bakke - Realdania Byg

and more, but as a building owner you
have to force them to choose. That’s why
we gave Bjørn Nørgaard special funds -
six million Danish kroner – that he could
prioritize. Far from everything on his list
of wishes was carried out!”.
The Unique Role of the Craftsmen
The first turf was cut at Bispebjerg Bakke
in October 2004 and work was started on
clearing the site and laying the foundations.
Since then, between 100 and 150
people have worked on the site daily. The
originators of the project, site managers
and craftsmen have been in close contact
throughout the process. The craftsmen
have been continuously initiated into the
ideas behind the building project, and
the collaboration with those who were
to build Bispebjerg Bakke has been essential
to Bjørn Nørgaard. He says: ”It is
crucial to a project such as this one that
those who work on the building every
day have an idea of the vision behind it.
And the building process depends on the
craftsmen being enthusiastic and feeling
that they are working on something visionary.
Whenever a new group of craftsmen
started work here, we told them
about the project in detail so that they
knew the background. This has also benefited
me subsequently. When I go to
the site, people know me and we chat
and discuss details. It is a mutual learning
process, in which I share experiences with
those working on the site. We have also
made it a priority to discuss the drawings
with them. That way we agreed how we
should build before making the final drawings.
That whole dialogue has been an
important part of the building process and
makes it fun being here”. Throughout the
process it has been important to him to
visit the site as often as possible. Among
other things this has made it possible
for him to prevent mistakes. “One day,
for example, I discovered that they were
mounting the ventilator caps on the roof.
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