Copenhagen practice NORD Architects have completed a cylindrical education centre in Bjerringbro, Denmark.

Called Natural Science Center, the building and grounds will be used to educate and engage pupils from Danish schools in the sciences.

The facade of the cylindrical volume is broken up by terraces, windows and translucent panels.

Photographs are copyright NORD Architects/Adam Mørk.

Here's some text from NORD Architects:

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A Building for Innovative Natural Science

The Natural Science Center is finished. The innovative building is designed by the young office NORD Architects in Copenhagen. The center is an iconographic light tower for innovative education and knowledge production within natural science. The purpose is to inspire and enhance the abilities for the teaching of the natural science in the educational system on a national scale. The center is one big educational laboratory embracing the facilities for lecturing, project development and educational processes that can enhance the interest and stimulate young people during secondary school and high school. The Natural Science Center is designed by the young office NORD Architects from Copenhagen. The competition was won in 2007.

The building is a monolithic cylinder generated in a series of geometrical transformations. Towards the exterior the building looks homogeneous with a façade cut in different ways by terraces, window openings and translucent openings. The façade is covered by u-glass profiles, that changes character when weather and light conditions change. At night it is lit from the inside like a light tower on the seaside.

Inside the building there are differentiated spatial experiences, flexible areas and internal connections. The Natural Science Center is placed on a hillside towards the north and it is the first thing you see when entering the city. On the large plot the “Natural Science Gardens” will be established as an external educational site open for the public.

“We are very proud of the result. It has become a very good story to tell that we as a young office in collaboration with the client and entrepreneur have delivered a building in time and within the budget. This center is an example of how to create a new type of institution aimed at the future need in terms of learning and innovating.” Morten Rask Gregersen and Johannes Pedersen, partners in NORD Architects, Copenhagen.

NORD Architects is a young office based in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, Denmark. The office has existed for 6 years and is run by Johannes Pedersen and Morten Rask Gregersen. NORD Architects works with a wide variety of projects in the fields of architecture, urban planning and urban spaces and have specialized in new types of institutions. NORD Architects has especially been famous for user involvement processes and the development of visions, strategies and innovative designs. Most recent projects are The Natural Science Center in Bjerringbro (Denmark), Tankefuld, a big sustainable urban plan in Svendborg (Denmark) and a series of urban spaces in Copenhagen.

Natural Science Center
Client: Fonden Naturvidenskabernes Hus
Donators: Realdania, Viborg Kommune, Poul Due Jensens Fond, mfl.
Place: Bjerringbro, Denmark
Year: 2007 - 2009
Size: 2560 m²
Budget: 46.300.000 DKK
Total Advisor: NORD Architects, Copenhagen
Engineer: Cowi a/s, Riisøe Rådgivende Ingeniør –, Svend Ole Hansen ApS – Arup
Landscape Architect: Charlotte Skibsted, Landskabsarkitekt MDL MAA
Client advisor: Rambøll Danmark a/s
Entrepreneur: MT Højgaard a/s, Viborg