Since its opening in 1847 as a central tapping and distribution location, the Carlsberg Brewery, wedged in between Valby and Vesterbro, has been a monumental force in both the growth of the Danish refreshment company, the Carlsberg Group, and in Danish and Scandinavian beer consumption.
Times have changed though, and the Carlsberg Group—now the fifth biggest brewery in the world and a major donor to Danish cultural events and institutions—decided to expand its expertise beyond hops and fermentation. After a necessary expansion, the breweries moved out of Copenhagen leaving its old headquarters unoccupied and ripe for an innovative rehabilitation.
Architectural contests were held to best exploit this large piece of prime real estate—with its old tapping halls, factories, offices and supply lines—smack in the middle of the city. The former walled-in factory, which is in fact more like a mini-city unto itself, spanning 33 hectares, will finally open it’s doors to the city after years of brewing in secret. In 2008 the realization of a plan to create a new urban center called Vores By or “Our City” complete with cafes, swimming pools, art galleries, movie theaters, food shops, commercial offices as well as living quarters and the commercial headquarters of Carlsberg began to break ground.
A collaborative effort involving many different architectural firms addressing a wide range of concerns, this long term project (emphasis on the long) will unfold over the course of ten to twenty years, in which time six new high rise towers will be erected and the older, fairy-tale red brick elements of the brewery and factory buildings will be updated and re-fitted in order to create a cohesive and open environment, looking towards the surrounding city areas of Vesterbro and Valby.
The Carlsberg Group seems to have learned from the less fortunate urban planning that has taken place in Copenhagen over the last decade. Instead of building up alienating towers, the planners are intent on creating a social space and one that is more lively than much of former failed city planning that has created ghost cities with a total lack of street life.
Important to the project is the fact that the space will architecturally celebrate the diversity of the city, creating an urban area that the developer has compared to being more like Christiania Freetown than some newer urban building projects in Copenhagen.
Prices for the prime real estate will range from expensive to more affordable, as the company will be renting out commercial space as well as ateliers and offices at cut rate prices for more creative companies, artists and musicians, most of whom will be hand picked by panel of curators and experts from the creative sectors.
The former walled-in factory, which is in fact more like a mini-city unto itself, spanning 33 hectares, will finally open it’s doors to the city after years of brewing in secret.
There are also plans to make the area CO2 neutral and incorporate green elements in all of the new spaces, including the preservation of old parks and other eco-friendly measures. Still in debate is whether a new subway station should be built in the area or if the existing train station, Enghave, should be moved a few kilometers in order to make transport to and from Vores By even easier. All of which would be paid for by Carlsberg, of course.
