Centralen

Centralen reimagines a demolition-threatened brutalist structure in Hillerød. Rather than dismantling it and its architectural memory, the project uses LCA and energy optimization to minimize the transformation's environmental impact, achieving a 44% of Global Warming Potential reduction compared to Danish benchmark construction. Coupling biogenic materials with the existing structure, reduces carbon impact and fosters a healthy indoor environment. Centralen becomes a hub for affordable living and cultural engagement, embedding itself in the city's social fabric and redefining preservation.

This project unfolds a careful dialog between past and future, permanence and adaptability. The project reimagines a demolition-threatened brutalist structure in Hillerød (DK), transforming it into a sustainable residential, cultural, and socially inclusive neighborhood. Rather than accepting the fate of post WWII concrete buildings—often dismissed as inefficient and outdated —the project proposes a holistic transformation through an adaptive reuse strategy that balances architectural preservation, energy performance, and material environmental impact. Using a research-driven iterative approach, the design integrates Life Cycle Assessment, daylight and energy simulations to identify effective interventions. A key principle of the transformation is reversibility to ensure that the modifications do not limit future adaptability, thus enhancing long-term flexibility and reuse. By carefully devising a strategy based on biogenic materials for the re-insulation of the existing thermal bridges, the project reduces the building’s total Global Warming Potential by 44% when compared with the Danish benchmark building. Additionally, it cuts operational energy consumption by nearly 50%, achieving a low total GWP of 5.98 kg CO₂-eq/m²/year. This strategy addresses both environmental aspects and long-term usability while maintaining the structure’s architectural integrity. The design also reinserts the building into the city’s social and cultural fabric. Introducing affordable housing, public programs, and cultural initiatives, the project transforms an isolated structure into a vibrant hub for community life. This approach redefines preservation not as a merely conservative effort, but as a dynamic and sustainable process of adaptation that promotes urban resilience.