DTU Compute B324

Campus in a box

"DTU has, with this building, shown great commitment in their wish to condense the area and build new research buildings in a successful and respectful way to the existing DTU buildings and masterplan."
Says the judges about the winning project.

Compute B324 at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is an intense university learning environment for the Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science. Here, the university’s high ambitions merge with innovative architectural design solutions to create an active learning environment that establishes a strong sense of community. The interior of the building is partially visible behind sandblasted, white, and transparent glass. The ground floor houses state-of-the-art classrooms, with offices and meeting rooms on the upper levels. The building is organized around eight towers. The towers are surrounded by an open environment with islands of specially designed study places made of ash wood. Flooded with daylight, all the rooms have soft acoustics, and beneath the sloping skylights, lightweight walkways pass between the tops of 22 evergreen trees that stimulate the indoor climate in this complex building. All the elements in this intense yet open facility have been organized to stimulate and support learning and scientific work.

A Green Oasis

DTU Compute is a united green oasis where trees and niches for studying and immersion for both students and scientists create variation. We have designed the building in a way that endorses encounters between students and teachers. The crowns of the trees create a natural ceiling above the niches that are created by specially designed interiors, placed to support the social environment but also individual immersion. The trees are a symbol of life, learning, wisdom, and experience, all principles that form the encounters between students, teachers, and scientists at DTU Compute. The inside of the building is related to the landscape outside where oak trees grow around campus. The trees are also supporting the green profile of the building, as they produce oxygen for the surroundings and ensure the best environment for the climate inside. A concept we call Botanical Engineering.

Solar Roof

DTU Compute has a sustainability concept that is introduced through passive and natural solutions, such as the trees’ production of oxygen. On the roof of the building, solar panels capture the energy from the rays of sunlight which contributes to the heating and electricity production of the building – DTU Compute is designed to be a zero-energy building. When solar energy is not sufficient, energy from supplementing energy supplies is used, and when we have more than enough solar energy, the energy goes back to the supplementing energy supplies. On the roof, containers for rainwater capture the rain to be used as irrigation for the trees and for flushing the toilets in the building.

Client

Technical University of Denmark

Area

4 700m2 / 50 590ft2

Year

2013

Location

Lyngby, Denmark

Collaborators

Kragh & Berglund / Anders Christensen / Henrik Larsen Engineers

Images

Adam Mørk