SEB Bank Headquarters | Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects

The SEB Headquarters marks the northernmost site in an extensive urban plan encompassing the former Danish National Rail freight yards. The uniting element of the urban proposal is a grand, raised, green landscape running the length of the former rail yards, creating a varied topography in which solitary building volumes occupy the edge zones.

The SEB office building occupies a unique position as the ‘spearhead’ of the elevated urban park that is to run the length of the rail yards. As such, the project must transition from street level at the north to the urban park elevated 7 meters on top of the new national archive building to the south of the site.

The SEB building is organized into two separate volumes that frame the sloped landscape leading up the urban park. The privately owned office building splits in two to frame a public space unique in Copenhagen. Here, a faceted, sloped landscape rises up from the busy street, inviting all to experience a green oasis and beckoning exploration of the further extents of the urban park.

The meandering path of a handicap accessible ramp generates the geometry and expression of the landscape. Although the surrounding neighbourhood is characterized by larger industrial buildings and can be devoid of life, the small landscape at SEB has been marked by an influx of activity and life. Skaters and a younger generation have discovered the uniquely sloped and angled landscape and have made it their own in the best possible way. Where there before was a windswept and forgotten corner of the city, now there is life.

The office buildings are also accessible from without and within. All floors are accessible by elevator. The Headquarters building is accessible from street level as well as via a unique ramp that winds around the corner of the building to an elevated drop-off area. The ramp acts a canopy at street level and allows access to all levels of the terraced lobby space.

In a sense, the SEB Bank has made a public gesture in establishing a park landscape on its site. It has set a standard for the further ‘inclusive’ development of the public spaces of the neighbourhood.