3XNs design for Danish Law Firm Horten’s new head office reflects the duality between the classic and the modern, combining solidity with an advanced choice of materials that express the profile of Horten’s practice.
The volume’s travertine-clad facade represents a reinterpretation of the classic concept of a corporate head office. Depending on the angle, Horten’s facade gives the impression of being a craggy cliff face, an ocean blue glass facade or an intricate geometrical pattern of chunky diagonal, vertical and horizontal friezes. The facade elements were developed especially for this building’s complex geometry while taking on board the requirements for sustainability. The elements were designed to ensure a pleasant working climate with maximum daylighting conditions while avoiding direct sunlight. The window sections are north-facing protecting against direct heat gain with their glass panes forming a 3D figure facing the water. Sustainability, in other words, is integrated in the architectural design itself: The building units are consciously designed to ensure that the building’s energy consumption is 10 per cent less than required by the energy guidelines in the Danish building code.
The emphasis is placed on a spatial experience with optimum daylight conditions in the individual offices as well as in communal areas. The main layout places the offices in two angled building volumes with open atria between them, creating visual contact between the two. Between the atria, distinctive sets of stairs criss cross up through the circular stairwell, the spine of the building, creating interaction and contact between storeys. Only twodecks are accessible to visitors, the reception area and the top floor, which contains meeting rooms, etc. The flexible office environment encourages knowledge sharing, informal meetings and interdepartmental communication which in means that employees benefit mentally and physically from their new surroundings.
Horten’s new head office is a modern expression of classic values. It reflects Horten’s solid integrity and background as well as the firm’s visions for new, future forms of collaboration.
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