Mountain Dwellings
Encyclopedia
Mountain Dwellings is an award-winning building in the Ørestad
district of Copenhagen
, Denmark
, consisting of apartments above a multi-storey car park
. The building is designed by Danish architectural practice Bjarke Ingels Group
. The apartments are scaling the diagonally sloping roof of the parking garage, from street level to 11th floor, creating an artificial, southfacing 'mountainside'. Each apartment has a "backyard" on the roof of the in-front, lower-level apartment. The resulting courtyard panthouse
s are an attempt to balance "the splendours of the suburbian backyard with the intensity of an urban lifestyle". Throughout the building, it plays on a mountain metaphor as well as the clash between the urban vibe of the interior parking space as well as the surroundings and the peaceful and organic hillside
, are all exact matches of the colours he used in his designs. The colours move, symbolically, from green for the earth over yellow, orange, dark orange, hot pink, purple to bright blue for the sky.
Besides being a sloping podium
for the residential units to sit on, maximizing sunlight and views, the central garage space also serves as an atrium
containing the building's circulation, affording the only access to the apartments. A set of metal stairs climb through the main space over the parking lot, providing access to the hallways across suspended industrial-looking metal-clad concrete connections, while a Swiss
-manufactured, ski lift
-style inclined elevator moves along the wall of the garage. Each level's hallway is enclosed and encased in painted metal both on the interior and exterior, colored according to floor in the same hues used in the main space..
's Kingo Houses
north of Copenhagen. The facades of the apartments towards the gardens are clad in untreated wood to increase the organic and calm feel of the setting.
image of Mount Everest
. The picture is based on a photo commissioned from a Japan
ese Himalaya photographer, though it had to be stretched to fit the proportions of the site.
s by the French street art
ist Victor Ash
, depicting scenes of wildlife such as moose and wolves standing atop 'automobile mountains' of wrecked cars.
s in the shape of planter rail
ings, designed to block the view to neighbouring, lower-level apartments. They are planted according to a coordinated scheme of plants, which will make the colours and the appearance of the mountain slope change according to the changing seasons. The building has an extensive watering system which collects rainwater and use it for automatically watering the roof gardens during dry periods.
in 2008.
A public staircase on the outside allows the general public to "climb" the mountain, and a local mountain climbers’ association will soon install a climbing wall
at the back of the building, near the peak.
Mountain Dwellings is featured in the parkour
documentary "My Playground".
Ørestad
Ørestad is a developing city area in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the island of Amager. It is expected that 20,000 people will live in Ørestad, 20,000 will study, and 80,000 people will be employed in the area...
district of Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, consisting of apartments above a multi-storey car park
Multi-storey car park
A multi-storey car-park is a building designed specifically to be for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place...
. The building is designed by Danish architectural practice Bjarke Ingels Group
Bjarke Ingels
Bjarke Ingels is a Danish architect. He heads the architectural practice Bjarke Ingels Group which he founded in 2006. In 2009 he co-founded the design consultancy KiBiSi...
. The apartments are scaling the diagonally sloping roof of the parking garage, from street level to 11th floor, creating an artificial, southfacing 'mountainside'. Each apartment has a "backyard" on the roof of the in-front, lower-level apartment. The resulting courtyard panthouse
Courtyard house
A courtyard house is a type of house — often a large house — where the main part of the building is disposed around a central courtyard. Many houses that have courtyards are not courtyard houses of the type covered by this article. For example, large houses often have small courtyards surrounded by...
s are an attempt to balance "the splendours of the suburbian backyard with the intensity of an urban lifestyle". Throughout the building, it plays on a mountain metaphor as well as the clash between the urban vibe of the interior parking space as well as the surroundings and the peaceful and organic hillside
Parking garage
The parking garage contains parking spots for 480 cars. The space has up to 16 m high ceilings, and the underside of each level of apartments is covered in aluminum painted in a distinctive colour scheme of psychedelic hues which, as a tribute to Danish 1960s and '70s furniture designer Verner PantonVerner Panton
Verner Panton is considered one of Denmark's most influential 20th-century furniture and interior designers. During his career, he created innovative and futuristic designs in a variety of materials, especially plastics, and in vibrant and exotic colors...
, are all exact matches of the colours he used in his designs. The colours move, symbolically, from green for the earth over yellow, orange, dark orange, hot pink, purple to bright blue for the sky.
Besides being a sloping podium
Podium
A podium is a platform that is used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek πόδι In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podia can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of an orchestra stands on a podium as do many...
for the residential units to sit on, maximizing sunlight and views, the central garage space also serves as an atrium
Atrium (architecture)
In modern architecture, an atrium is a large open space, often several stories high and having a glazed roof and/or large windows, often situated within a larger multistory building and often located immediately beyond the main entrance doors...
containing the building's circulation, affording the only access to the apartments. A set of metal stairs climb through the main space over the parking lot, providing access to the hallways across suspended industrial-looking metal-clad concrete connections, while a Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
-manufactured, ski lift
Ski lift
The term ski lift generally refers to any transport device that carries skiers up a hill. A ski lift may fall into one of the following three main classes:-Lift systems and networks:...
-style inclined elevator moves along the wall of the garage. Each level's hallway is enclosed and encased in painted metal both on the interior and exterior, colored according to floor in the same hues used in the main space..
Apartments
The sloping roof is covered with a single layer of 80 penthouses. Each apartment has an L-shaped floor plan and a terrace and small garden outside, located on the roof of the in-front, lower-level apartment. The design is inspired by suburban rowhouses developments. The L-shape flor plan in combination with a small courtyard was inspired by Jørn UtzonJørn Utzon
Jørn Oberg Utzon, , AC was a Danish architect, most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia. When it was declared a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007, Utzon became only the second person to have received such recognition for one of his works during his lifetime...
's Kingo Houses
Kingo Houses
Kingo Houses is a housing development designed by architect Jørn Utzon in Helsingor, Denmark. The development consists of 63 L-shaped houses based upon the design of traditional Danish farmhouses with central courtyards and that of Chinese and Islamic dwellings....
north of Copenhagen. The facades of the apartments towards the gardens are clad in untreated wood to increase the organic and calm feel of the setting.
Himalayan panorama
The northern and western facades of the parking garage depict a 3,000 m² photorealistic mural of Himalyan peaks. The parking garage is protected from wind and rain by huge shiny aluminium plates, perforated to let in light and allow for natural ventilation. By controlling the size of the holes, the sheetings were transformed into the giant rasterizedRasterisation
Rasterisation is the task of taking an image described in a vector graphics format and converting it into a raster image for output on a video display or printer, or for storage in a bitmap file format....
image of Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
. The picture is based on a photo commissioned from a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Himalaya photographer, though it had to be stretched to fit the proportions of the site.
Murals
The interior walls of the car park are decorated with a series of muralMural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s by the French street art
Street art
Street art is any art developed in public spaces — that is, "in the streets" — though the term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives...
ist Victor Ash
Ash (artist)
Ash also called Victor Ash is originally a street artist from Paris, France.He started his artistic career as a graffiti writer in the early 1980s and from 1983 to 1986 he also called himself Saho and Ash2....
, depicting scenes of wildlife such as moose and wolves standing atop 'automobile mountains' of wrecked cars.
Planting
The roof gardens are edged by elevated flowerbedFlowerbed
A flowerbed is an element of many gardens. A flowerbed is a garden area especially prepared for growing flowers. The area is typically marked off, often by low-lying structures of brick or similar materials, designed to highlight the flowers and reduce the spread of weeds...
s in the shape of planter rail
Guard rail
Guard rail or guardrail, sometimes referred to as guide rail or railing, is a system designed to keep people or vehicles from straying into dangerous or off-limits areas...
ings, designed to block the view to neighbouring, lower-level apartments. They are planted according to a coordinated scheme of plants, which will make the colours and the appearance of the mountain slope change according to the changing seasons. The building has an extensive watering system which collects rainwater and use it for automatically watering the roof gardens during dry periods.
Other use
For special occasions, the urban space of the parking garage is used for events and parties, such as the closing party of Copenhagen DistortionCopenhagen Distortion
Copenhagen Distortion is a middle-size festival for party/club culture, taking place in the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark, and in dozens of unusual locations around city, every year during the week of the first Saturday in June...
in 2008.
A public staircase on the outside allows the general public to "climb" the mountain, and a local mountain climbers’ association will soon install a climbing wall
Climbing wall
A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, usually used for indoor climbing, but sometimes located outdoors as well. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used is a thick multiplex board with holes drilled...
at the back of the building, near the peak.
Mountain Dwellings is featured in the parkour
Parkour
Parkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...
documentary "My Playground".
Awards
- 2009 ULI Award for Excellence
- 2009 MIPIM Award for best residential development
- 2008 World Architecture Festival AwardWorld Architecture FestivalThe World Architecture Festival is an annual event held in Barcelona organised by EMAP, a media group that runs other festivals, including the World Retail Congress and Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, as well as publishes various journals, including within the field of...
for Best Residential Building - 2008 Forum AID AwardForum AID AwardThe Forum AID Award is Nordic architecture and design award handed out annually by the Swedish magazine Forum AID. AID is an acronym for the three subject-matters of the magazine - Architecture, Interior design and Design - and it is also the three categories of the award...
for Best Building in Scandinavia in 2008
External links
- Mountain Dwellings at Copenhagen X
- My Playground - parkourParkourParkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...
at Mountain Dwellings