Eight Pointed Star-Shaped UN City, Copenhagen

3XN Wonders

3XN, founded as Nielsen, Nielsen and Nielsen in Aarhus in 1986 by the architects Kim Herforth Nielsen, Lars Frank Nielsen (partner until 2002) and Hans Peter Svendler Nielsen (partner until 1992), the studio, today, is famous for two things--their preference for social and humane architecture, and projects demanding a high level of detail and employing workmanship of the highest quality.

The studio emphasizes on curiosity, originality and poetry and creates architecture for people through a complex approach tailored to users and clients. They translates visions into reality and is continually committed to making today's work tomorrow's architectural heritage.

Based on their this design philosophy, the Studio designed many prestigious projects including its latest projects 'The new regional head office of the United Nations in Copenhagen' and The Blue Planet in Denmark that have won many accolades and recognition worldwide.

Eight Pointed Star Shaped UN City

UN City has been designed with clear references to the UN's identity and values. It is a building that physically reaches out to all parts of the world, while the sculptural staircase in its core reflects the UN's work to create global dialogue. Being completed and delivered in two phases: Phase 1 in 2012 and phase 2 in 2013, the project was officially inaugurated on July 4 2013 with the participation of the General Secretary of the UN.

Bringing together the various agencies and functions of the United Nations regional offices in Copenhagen, the new UN City is located at Marmormolen (The Marble Pier) north of Copenhagen's city center. 3XN's design is a response to the UN's wishes for an iconic building expressing the organization's values and authority. More specifically, the design reflects the independent, efficient and professional nature of each UN unit, while at the same time clearly rooted in a mutual set of values - Delivering as One.

High security and accessibility standards have been central considerations in the design of the new main office building. The UN City must live up to the most stringent requirements, providing a protected and safe environment, while at the same time appearing open and accommodating to the city.

Located on an artificial island, the building is naturally separated from its immediate surroundings, while still being highly visible from both the city and the water.

The Star

From above, the eight-pointed star shape is a clear visual reference point, which, like the UN, reaches out to all corners of the world. Similar to the surrounding rusty pier edges, the UN city has a dark burnished steel base from which the white main building rises. This is a reference to the elegant white ships that characterize this part of the Copenhagen harbor.

Star Shaped UN City

The building has a façade cladding of white perforated aluminum shutters, developed by 3XN and contractor Pihl specifically for the UN City. The shutters ensure solar shading without blocking the view or the daylight. Since the facade is divided into three meter long modules, it is possible for the employees to control the sunshade from their computers. The result is an improved indoor environment, and a dynamic façade expressing a building full of life.

UN City Copenhagen
From the core of the star-shaped building, a daylight filled atrium connects the lobby level containing all common functions, with the office levels, where the various UN agencies are distributed.

From the atrium a central staircase binds all levels together. 3XN has created the staircase as a dramatic spatial sculpture, which is to be seen as a symbol of the UN's work to create dialogue, interaction and positive encounters between people in all parts of the world. In the daily life, the sculptural form inspires the UN employees to use the stairs, and thus the staircase also forms the basis for dialogue, cooperation and informal meetings between the various UN organizations.

The main office building has more than 90 meeting rooms including a number of flexible rooms on each floor that staff can use for various purposes. The auditorium is a conference facility with a total capacity of 450 people. For smaller conferences and meetings, the auditorium can be divided into smaller rooms by using specially designed partitions.

Sustainability

UN City Staircase
All office levels are characterized by an open and flexible layout encouraging knowledge sharing and interaction as well as individual immersion. Work stations are ensured plenty of high quality daylight and a good indoor climate. The working environment is further improved by an overall health policy including green recreational areas and a number of sustainable features including.

Air quality - The building has been designed to limit the use of chemicals and pollutants during both its construction and its use. The building is entirely ventilated with filtered outside air. This ensures that only clean, fresh air is present in the building and helps balance the interior humidity level.

Solar panels - more than 1,400 solar panels are lining the roof of the building to support the goal of generating renewable energy onsite. With an estimated total production of 297,000 kWh/year, the solar panels significantly reduce the need for electricity from the grid.

30545-UN City Reflective Roofs

At a Glance
Project : UN City, Copenhagen
Client : FN Byen p.s. (Copenhagen Port & City Development)
Architect : 3XN
Engineer : Orbicon a/s
Landscape : Schønherr
Contractor : Pihl A/S
Interior Design : PLH / UN Common Services
Size : 45,000 m2 office and public facilities + 7,000 m2 archives and secondary facilities
Capacity : 1700 employees
Budget : Approx. 134 mio. EURO
Picture Courtesy : Adam M¢rk

Sea water cooling - Cold seawater pumped into the building's cooling system, almost entirely eliminating the need for electricity to power the cooling cycle.

Water efficiency - Innovative aerators have been placed in the taps in kitchens, toilets and showers throughout the building. The low-flow taps reduce water usage. In addition, pipes on the roof capture almost 3,000,000 litres of rainwater annually, which is almost enough to flush the toilets of the entire building without using potable water.

Solar shades - Sophisticated solar shades on the building's facade can be opened and closed to either trap or reflect the sun's heat.

Energy Efficient Building

Reflective roofs - The roof of the building has been coated with a white, recyclable membrane, made from plant-based materials. The environment–friendly coating reflects sunlight and reduces the solar warming of the building.

The UN City is expected to become one of Denmark's most energy efficient buildings with an annual energy consumption of less than 50 KwH per m2 (Danish Energy Class 1). The UN City is registered with the LEED sustainability ratings system with the certification goal of LEED® Platinum. UN City has been awarded the prestigious Green Building Award 2012 by the European Commission.