A Building That Reuses Itself

The building at Thoravej 29 has undergone a major transformation and was completed in early 2025. Together with a team consisting of Pihlmann Architects, the construction company Hoffmann A/S, and ABC Consulting Engineers, The Bikuben Foundation has transformed the former industrial building into spaces and facilities designed to challenge conventional thinking.

From the outset, there was a strong desire to act as responsibly as possible. The entire renovation was therefore guided by one fundamental principle: the building should reuse itself.

Examples of Reuse in the Construction Process

The ceiling at Thoravej 29 has been turned into stairs and interior fittings. The old ceiling – a TT deck – was cut and lowered to form a staircase. This transformation brought natural light into the building while reusing the existing concrete elements.

Most construction teams would not hesitate to replace plastic windows, but since the plastic windows at Thoravej 29 still have an estimated lifespan of around 15 years, they will only be replaced when necessary. Surplus facade bricks have been reused as flooring, and doors have been shredded and recast into tabletops for the building.

Figures from DTU – Up to 88% Reduction in CO₂ Emissions

In connection with the project, Associate Professor Kristoffer Negeldahl from DTU (Technical University of Denmark) carried out an analysis of how the comprehensive reuse principle affected CO₂ emissions compared to new construction.
The analysis shows that the renovation of Thoravej 29 achieved:

• Up to 88% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to new construction
• 95% reuse of materials
• 90% reduction in waste

The building received a DGNB Gold pre-certification from the Green Building Council Denmark in autumn 2023 and was awarded a Building Award for Building of the Year by Licitationen in autumn 2024.

Location, Architects, and Construction Team

The Bikuben Foundation originally purchased the building in Copenhagen’s Nordvest district to be closer to the people and communities it aims to support and collaborate with on creating positive social change.

From the beginning, the foundation made a conscious decision to engage younger architects for the project. In the initial phase, emerging architectural studios were paired on “speed dates” with experienced contractors and engineers. Ultimately, Pihlmann Architects, Hoffmann A/S, and ABC Consulting Engineers were chosen – forming a team characterized by courage, innovation, and social responsibility.

Throughout the process, the Bikuben Foundation collaborated with experts in sustainability and construction to guide decision-making, and they involved and listened to future users of the building along the way.

The Bikuben Foundation’s Initiative

Thoravej 29 marks a completely new direction in the Bikuben Foundation’s philanthropic work. The physical spaces are designed to inspire, develop, and challenge habitual thinking. The initiative behind the community stems from a belief that bringing people and organizations together can foster new perspectives, knowledge, and learning – and serve as a way to co-create solutions across disciplines, interests, and power structures.

In this way, Thoravej 29 has become a central element in the foundation’s work to create positive societal change.

Interior Design at Thoravej 29: Guided by Reuse and Sustainability

The interior design of Thoravej 29, like the building project itself, has been guided by principles of reuse and sustainability. Some of the furnishings have been made from materials reclaimed from the existing building, while other pieces are custom-designed for the building and produced from wood sourced from Svanninge Bjerge in southern Funen.

Additionally, parts of the inventory were purchased based on principles such as recycling and energy efficiency. The design process was led by designer Sara Martinsen as the main advisor on materials and furnishings, in close collaboration with Pihlmann Architects.

Examples of Reused Materials from the Existing Building

Wood
Materials from the original building were sent to the company Convert in Jutland. All wooden products – doors, floors, and door frames – were shredded and pressed into new boards. These boards were then used to produce meeting tables, coffee tables, benches, and shelving units.

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Metal
Various metal components, primarily old ventilation ducts, were collected from the building before the transformation. These metals were compressed into cubes, sandblasted, and now serve as legs for a seven-meter-long meeting table.

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Concrete
Floor slabs were cut, and selected TT-decks were repurposed into long tables for meeting rooms and the café, as well as benches in the lobby and library.

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Custom-Designed Furniture from Svanninge Bjerge Wood

The Bikuben Foundation manages the Svanninge Bjerge nature reserve in southern Funen to increase biodiversity. Some trees that were already scheduled to be felled to allow more light to reach the forest floor were transformed into furniture now featured at Thoravej 29.

Typically, furniture production involves ordering raw planks from a lumberyard. In this case, Pihlmann Architects, the Bikuben Foundation, and designer Sara Martinsen personally selected the trees in the forest.

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Working with wood from a biodiversity-focused forest sometimes requires adjustments to the schedule – for example, tree felling had to be postponed to avoid disturbing the birds’ breeding season.

The design and carpentry studio Archival Studies was chosen by Pihlmann Architects and Sara Martinsen to design and produce outdoor furniture for the rooftop terrace and high chairs for the ground-floor café. They also explored the potential of using “green” (unseasoned) wood directly from the forest. Working with wet wood reduces energy consumption because it avoids drying and post-processing, while also allowing a greater portion of the tree trunk to be utilized compared to conventional furniture production.

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Selected Nordic wood species include pine, grandis, larch, Douglas fir, beech, and maple, along with some cypress. Oak was deliberately avoided by Archival Studies and Sara Martinsen to demonstrate that aesthetic and functional furniture can also be made from fast-growing, more affordable species.

The goal was also to create variety in wood types, since overreliance on a narrow selection in production forests leads to monocultures. This approach may inspire the use of alternative wood species beyond oak, which has long been the most sought-after timber.

Designers Behind the Furniture

In addition to Archival Studies, the exhibition platform and creative community Ukurant selected talented young designers to create custom furniture for Thoravej 29:

Design Duo: Christian + Jade

12 Stools
In the spirit of sustainability, three beams of grandis wood from Svanninge Bjerge (15 × 15 × 400 cm) were sliced to produce exactly twelve stools – no more, no less. The stools retain the natural weight and volume of the beams and draw inspiration from the visible construction and joinery of Thoravej 29. Each stool allows the “living” wood to move naturally, with cracks stabilized and highlighted by metal brackets that embrace and accentuate the material’s vitality.

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Designer: Anne Skaarup Jaedicke

12 Stools
‘Taburet 29’ is crafted from grandis wood from Svanninge Bjerge. Its simple, geometric form serves as a canvas for surface embossing – the number “29,” reflecting the building’s address, emerges through stamped impressions. The raw and chaotic stamping is inspired by timber numbering during felling, creating a tactile depth and inviting viewers to experience the wood’s natural details anew.

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Designer: Anna Søgaard

Table Supports
Inspired by traditional carpenter trestles, Anna Søgaard designed flexible, stackable table supports made from maple and beech from Svanninge Bjerge. The top of the trestle is shaped as an I-profile for strength and stability. The three-leg design saves material and weight while providing extra seating space. All elements are dimensionally uniform, assembled with countersunk screws, and feature a small saddle connecting leg to beam. When not in use, the trestles can be stacked to form a sculptural installation, combining functionality, sustainability, and a connection to nature.

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Used Furniture

The average lifespan of a piece of furniture is 10–15 years. By purchasing furniture from the 1970s and 1980s, we significantly extend the life of these pieces. Tusindfryds Loppeland sourced used furniture over a period of approximately eight months, following a specific list provided by interior design consultant Sara Martinsen.

In addition to collecting items, they also handled reupholstering where needed. Purchasing used furniture while achieving a cohesive aesthetic is a complex task. The Bikuben Foundation specifically aimed to buy used upholstered furniture, as these pieces have a high carbon footprint due to the amount of foam involved.

Upholstered furniture can be very worn, so close dialogue with the purchaser and ongoing quality checks are crucial, and reupholstering may be necessary.

Furthermore, all office chairs in the building were purchased as used items. To maintain a cohesive look, it is important to source 30–50 of the same chair model, with matching frame and seat colors. This requires careful specification and a targeted sourcing process, often acquiring sets of four to six at a time until a uniform collection is assembled.

The category “Used Furniture” also includes items brought from Enigheden, where the Bikuben Foundation and the community were temporarily based during the renovation. For example, many table frames were relocated and fitted with new tabletops if worn. Furniture that was not moved was sold through an internal “moving sale.” Approximately 70–75% of the total furniture for Thoravej 29 consists of used items.

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New Furniture

A small portion of the furniture was newly purchased, primarily pieces with specific functional requirements, such as frames for height-adjustable tables. The tabletops were produced from recycled wood waste sourced from Danish furniture manufacturers.

The building’s telephone booths are also new acquisitions. It was difficult to find manufacturers that met the required environmental standards, so Sara Martinsen reached out to PhoneAlone, who saw the benefit of a development partnership to create a more responsible telephone booth that matched Thoravej 29 in both sustainability and aesthetics.

The exterior layers of the booths were stripped down, leaving raw chipboard with a transparent lacquer. Cork was used as a substitute for foam in the inner core. The absorbing surface inside the booths is made from PET felt, 80% of which comes from recycled plastic bottles. The booths are designed with a click system, allowing them to be dismantled, reassembled, or repaired without damaging the chipboard – a common problem with screw assemblies.

When purchasing new furniture, the focus was on durability, maintenance, and responsible material choices. Many items are designed so that individual components can be replaced without discarding the entire piece due to a small defect or damage. Furniture was also sourced locally whenever possible, and items produced outside Europe were generally avoided.

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Seat Cushions

The seat cushions are made from algae-based foam supplied by Agoprene in Norway, a sustainable alternative to polyurethane foam.

For the cafeteria, cushions with removable covers were produced to allow for cleaning when necessary. These use Hairlock (natural rubber and animal brushes) with a wool cover. The cover is constructed as an envelope that folds around the Hairlock cushion, avoiding seams and zippers. To prevent sliding, a magnetic

Signage

The building’s wayfinding and signage program has also been designed with reusability and sustainability in mind. Self-adhesive film has been used for the large facade signs as well as for glass surfaces both inside and outside the building. This makes it easy to update text and logos without replacing the signs themselves. The light boxes on the facade are made from recycled plastic and aluminum.

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Website

The focus on sustainability also extends to Thoravej 29’s digital presence, which features an ECO function on the website. We have made a dedicated effort to create a low-impact website that produces approximately 65% less CO₂ per page view than the average website.

Catering and hospitality with a social agenda

Meyers has helped develop the house’s member restaurant, café, and event program, and the company operates a range of catering solutions in close co-creation with the house’s members.

The collaboration with Meyers is founded on a strong set of shared values with all members of Thoravej 29. At the same time, they aim to bring their diverse professional expertise into play through the canteen, restaurant, and events.

Meyers has extensive experience in advancing social agendas through food and meals. Among other things, they offer young people outside work and education the opportunity to join new communities through projects such as “Højskole Without Walls” and “Meal, Leisure, Future.”

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The meal as an inclusive meeting point

As the focal point of their partnership, Thoravej 29 and Meyers have together developed a new concept for the house’s member restaurant: Langar.

Langar is inspired by Eastern traditions, and the goal is for the kitchen to create space for cross-disciplinary encounters and to foster inclusion. In practice, this means that all members of the house are encouraged to take part in the dining experiences and thereby become co-creators of both culture and meals.

The dining experience is built on a set of core principles: meals are based on the season, have a plant-based foundation, and use many ingredients from the in-house pantry. This means that lunch is created using as many local ingredients as possible and primarily vegetables and legumes—seasoned and refined with homemade pickled and fermented goods, and enjoyed together at long communal tables.

We promote a circular economy:

• We only purchase new products when necessary.
• We make use of reuse and recycling when it makes sense from an overall perspective.
• We explore opportunities for take-back schemes and resale of used equipment.

We reduce our climate footprint through:

• The use of low-emission transport solutions, such as electric vehicles, train transport, and carpooling.
• Prioritizing energy-efficient products with good energy ratings.
• Purchasing electricity from renewable energy sources.

We prefer certified products, such as:

• Organic products
• The Nordic Swan Ecolabel and the EU Ecolabel
• FSC-certified wood
• Products with climate labels or available climate data

We collaborate with suppliers who take responsibility

For larger projects, we place positive emphasis on suppliers who:

• Take social responsibility.
• Support local production.
• Have targets for climate and biodiversity.
• Can document how they comply with our guidelines.

The building consists of a heavy structure with thermal mass, which will passively help maintain a good indoor climate.

As part of the renovation, a large portion of the heavy structures will be exposed, making it easier for heat and cold to be “stored” in the concrete floors, walls, and ceilings. This principle is actively used in connection with the night cooling strategy implemented in the building.

Specifically, this means that the fans of the ventilation systems are switched on at night during the warmest weeks of summer, allowing cool outside air to be blown into the building when users are not present. In this way, cooling is stored in the concrete structures and furniture, and during the day, the walls, furniture, and ceilings gradually release the stored coolness into the air as it warms up from people, sunlight, and the large technical façade.

The technical façade is also part of the renovation. In addition to distributing the technical installations throughout the building, it contributes to passive solar heating during the winter months, thereby reducing the need for radiators and similar heating systems.

Furthermore, several active measures have been implemented to help reduce the building’s overall energy consumption:

• Motion sensors and daylight control on lighting in many rooms adjust brightness and energy use according to daylight conditions and occupancy.
• Ventilation operates as a mix of constant and variable air volume zones. The latter means that airflow and thus energy use are adjusted in several rooms (e.g., meeting rooms) based on occupancy, CO₂ levels, and room temperature.
• As a user, you can control the lighting yourself. However, it is recommended to follow the automated system, which assesses whether daylight levels are sufficient to avoid artificial lighting—this helps save electricity.

Indoor Climate and Building Use

The building is equipped with a central radiator system and balanced mechanical ventilation with integrated cooling via heat pumps. These systems are controlled centrally through a Building Management System (BMS) operated by Facility Management.

Ventilation

Ventilation is centrally controlled based on fixed temperature and CO₂ levels in each room. The building is designed so that natural ventilation is not required, and in some cases, opening the windows may worsen conditions. The ventilation system includes integrated cooling, where the supply air temperature is centrally controlled and adjusted based on the overall needs of individual rooms. The supply temperature can vary between 17–21 °C. Users cannot manually regulate the ventilation.

Heating

The building’s heating system consists of radiators, each equipped with a thermostat allowing users to regulate room temperature in individual rooms or zones. It is expected that the temperature in the building will rise during the day due to heat from occupants and equipment.

The radiators are dimensioned to maintain a room temperature of around 21 °C on a cold day when the outdoor temperature may drop to approximately -12 °C.

In rare cases where the outdoor temperature is below -12 °C, or if the district heating and system capacity cannot keep up, the temperature may not reach 21 °C.

As a user, you can adapt your clothing for both winter and summer. Draw the curtains when the sun shines directly on the windows to avoid unnecessary heating, and close the curtains when leaving during warm periods to keep the building cooler the next morning.

Adjusting the Indoor Climate

In general, users have the most opportunities to adjust the indoor climate during winter, when radiators and clothing are the main tools to ensure comfortable thermal conditions.

During summer, heating is typically shut off, and windows can be opened. However, since the building is equipped with mechanical cooling, opening windows can lead to energy waste, as the indoor air is often cooler than the outdoor air on hot days. Therefore, from an energy perspective, it is generally not recommended to open windows when the sun is on the façade. On the other hand, air movement from open windows can improve perceived comfort since airflow feels cooling.

Adjusting clothing is one way users can optimize their own comfort. In rooms with curtains, it is highly beneficial to draw them when sunlight enters through the windows. This also reduces the building’s energy consumption for cooling throughout the year if users remember to close the curtains when leaving during warm periods.

Water Conservation

Most of the building’s water installations are retained. Some sanitary fixtures and fittings are replaced, and additional ones are added in the restroom cores. Where new fixtures and fittings are installed, they are equipped with water-saving aerators to reduce consumption.

As a user, you can help by avoiding unnecessary water use—for example, turn off the tap while soaping your hands. Additionally, only use the large toilet flush when necessary.

Cleaning is carried out by the cleaning company Service by Larsen, which places a particular focus on sustainability.

Their product portfolio emphasizes climate adaptation. Among other things, they use climate-friendly cleaning machines and agents that are Cradle-to-Cradle certified. This means that the electricity used in the production of the cleaning agents comes exclusively from renewable energy sources, and the required process heat is generated using climate-neutral natural gas. Their manufacturer doses the products directly, which reduces CO₂ emissions by minimizing the transport of heavy, pre-mixed liquids.

In addition, Service by Larsen collaborates with their clients to establish recycling stations that promote proper waste management and reuse.

Service by Larsen also works to minimize negative impacts on biodiversity by choosing products that support this goal — such as their environmentally friendly cleaning products and FSC-certified wood.

As part of their commitment to social sustainability, Service by Larsen has adopted a policy of not performing night work. Furthermore, they collaborate with Glad Food on selected projects to include marginalized individuals with disabilities in their operations.