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  • Evening exterior view of the main entrance of the Danish Crown headquarters facing the arrival plaza
  • Hand sketch showing how the building is inspired by traditional three-winged farm buildings and the historic star-shaped village layout
  • Hand sketch illustrating the overall concept of three offset wings pushed together around the arrival and fanning out towards the open landscape
  • North view of the headquarters with the three wings opening towards the landscape, which combines agricultural zones, activity and leisure areas and work functions
  • Elevation of the wing buildings’ brick facades and high-ridge metal roofs inspired by traditional Danish farm buildings
  • Hands ketch of the central heart space of the building with common facilities revolving around the show kitchen
  • The light-filled atrium of the Danish Crown headquarters is linked to the main entrance and the open landscape thus supporting synergies between indoor common facilities and outdoor areas
  • The The Danish Crown headquarters' atrium combines brick, wood and greenery to create a welcoming and warm atmosphere that at the same time links the interior with the exterior facades
  • LOCATION: RANDERS, DK
  • CLIENT: DANISH CROWN
  • SIZE: 13,180 M²
  • YEAR: 2020-2023
  • STATUS: COMPLETED
  • ARCHITECT: CEBRA
  • LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: CEBRA
  • TURNKEY CONTRACTOR: RAUNDAHL & MOESBY
  • ENGINEER: SØREN JENSEN

The new headquarters for food manufacturer Danish Crown is located on a 12 ha site, together with the company’s existing administration building. The design takes cues from historic Danish farm buildings and agricultural village communities to create a work and innovation environment that spans the company’s 130-year history with roots in the cooperative movement to their goal of delivering climate neutral production by 2050.

Modelled on farm and village communities
Our design uses the typical Danish farm building with its solid brickwork, hipped roof, and high ridge to create identifiable signature for the headquarters. Three wing buildings are pushed together on one side to frame the main entrance and fan out to the north towards to open landscape. The wings are offset to one another so that they gather around a central inner hub, like the farm’s courtyard or the community green in nucleated villages.

This large pivotal space serves as the building’s vibrant heart with centrally located common facilities such as canteen, show kitchen, and employee store. It also links the building vertically by means of open bridges and staircases. They create a figure-eight flow that connects the three wings and four storeys. The offset arrangement of the rectangular volumes around a vibrant atrium space results in a diverse and flexible spatial landscape. Well-defined areas for the companies’ departments in each wing are combined with a diverse setting of different spatial qualities and work zones. These include private meeting rooms, single and group workstations, coffee spots, social meeting zones et al.

The healthy work environment
The building and landscape design support a network- and activity-based work environment that revolves around the physical and mental health as well as the social and professional wellbeing of the employees. The fanning wings optimize daylight conditions for both workstations and common areas. The offset composition provides generous views over the open landscape throughout the building for a healthy indoor climate and a high level of comfort.

Furthermore, the activity-based work environments and landscape design create varied sequences of different functional, social, and activity zones. Modelled on the historic villages’ radial field distribution, the landscape fans out as fields of natural and agricultural landscapes containing both professional and recreational functions. The fields are divided by hedgerows and wild areas for climate adaption and rainwater management, which create new habitats for flora and fauna.

A system of pathways leads through the landscape as scenic and eventful routes that combine recreational qualities, nature experiences, and attractive destinations along the way. The integral relationship between building and landscape supports a healthy and health promoting work environment. The Danish Crown headquarters motivate employees to move around in- and outside the building, meet for an informal walk’n’talk, go for a run, and engage in different communal activities, for instance the community greenhouse and garden.

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Danish Crown

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