Though you may not guess at first glance, this building was once used to store massive amounts of grain. Following a refurbishment by COBE Architects, it has now been turned into a new high-rise apartment building. The firm maintained the original look inside, but transformed the exterior with a galvanized steel facade.
The Silo rises to 17 stories and is part of a wider transformation of Copenhagen's Nordhavn (North Harbor) area, which also includes C.F. Møller's islands project.
Its former unfinished concrete exterior was clad in a galvanized steel facade that significantly changes the look of the building and also enables the creation of small balcony spaces for some residences.
The high-rise comprises a total floorspace of 10,000 sq m (107,639 sq ft), which is split into 38 apartments, both single and multi-level spaces ranging in size from 106 to 401 sq m (1,140 - 4,316 sq ft) each. The entire top floor is taken up by a glazed public restaurant that looks like a lantern when lit at night and offers 360-degree views of Copenhagen. The ground floor is envisioned as a flexible event space.
The Silo's interior decor has been largely left as-is where possible to maintain the look of the former industrial building and fans of unfinished concrete should find a lot to like here, though it may be a bit too much for some.
"We wanted to retain the spirit of The Silo as much as possible – both in terms of its monolithic exterior and majestic concrete interior, by simply draping it with a new overcoat," says Dan Stubbergaard, Founder and Creative Director of COBE.
The Silo was completed in May, 2017. Some residents are already living inside while the rest are due to move in over the next few months.
Source: COBE
