X-INGTOWERS-SCHMIDT-HAMMER-LASSEN ARCHITECTS: About The Project

"Architectural practice schmidt hammer lassen propose to create modern towers at the heart of the ‘Metropolzone‘ – a multifunctional development that is emblematic of a forward-looking capital. ‘X-ING TOWERS’ is to be a ‘City House’, which brings together the activities of the city and exudes buzz and dynamism.

schmidt hammer lassen is participating – alongside the Bjarke Ingels Group and Henning Larsen – in a so-called competitive dialogue process, tendering a proposal to re-develop Axeltorv in central Copenhagen, where Scala is located today.

The vision comprises two sweeping towers that rest on a common base. Just as Copenhagen’s historic spires communicate the city’s civic pride, so the proposed X-ING TOWERS indicate a dynamic new phase in the capital’s ongoing development. The two towers measure respectively 97 and 147 metres in height – a striking new landmark for the entire Metropolzone which will create a new identity for the area.

The intention behind the project is to create a sustainable, multifunctional building that is a resource for the entire city. A single dynamic organism incorporating shopping, retail, restaurants, a library, exhibition spaces, café and conference facilities, as well as two international hotels. The result – if the vision becomes reality – is a ‘City House’ that opens up to its urban context, providing a setting for street level events and thereby radically breaking with the area’s tendency to function as a transit area.

The name ‘X-ING TOWERS’ refers both to the architectural vision of two intertwined towers but also to the ‘intertwining’ that characterizes the building’s multiple functions.

X-ING TOWERS is a modern high-rise signature development at the heart of the Metropolzone, communicating the sense of a forward-looking capital. It comprises two sweeping towers set on a common base. Measuring respectively 97 and 147 metres in height, the towers act as prominent landmark for the entire Metropolzone, lending the area a unique identity. A single dynamic organism, the building incorporates shopping, retail, restaurants, a library, exhibition spaces, café and conference facilities, as well as two international hotels. Functions are so disposed that civic uses are graduated as the building rises, the base providing the most public and outward looking element. X-ING TOWERS opens up to its urban context, its name an allusion to both the architectural vision of two intertwined towers, but also to the ‘intertwining’ of the building’s multiple functions.
The soft sculptural form recalls Danish design traditions of the 1950s, where sophisticated elegance resulted from the fusion of high quality and clean lines in architecture. As a consequence, the building interacts harmoniously with the setting and surrounding buildings. The exterior form, in combination with the building’s conceptual configuration and sustainability credentials will contribute to the branding of Copenhagen as a world-class metropolis.

The building’s soft sculptural expression recalls Danish design traditions of the 1950s, where high quality, clean lines and distinctive architectural expression proved an aes-thetically sophisticated combination. The building responds sensitively to its immediate context and the wider urban environment.

The towers’ exterior form and sustainable credentials will further contribute to Copenhagen’s aspiration as a world-class metropolis.

A key design premise was that the Metropolzone should be a ‘green’, sustainability hotspot in the Øresund region. For example, the project proposes that the building be based on natural ventilation, with mechanical ventilation kept to a minimum. A double-skin façade provides variable solar shading: single glazing on the outside, thermal glazing on the inside. The construction and the high-tech control system means that the façade acts as a climate buffer for the building as a whole.

schmidt hammer lassen has designed an intelligent, sustainable building that regulates the internal climate through its construction and structural design and proposed construction techniques."