beyond your map

Built from 1965 to 1970, the Czechoslovak embassy in London embodies the country's adoption of Brutalist architecture during the communist era. Designed by Czech architects in collaboration with Robert Matthew, it replaced Italianate mansions on Kensington Palace Gardens. The award-winning design, influenced by international modernism, features cubist geometry and reflects a belief in new industry and prefabrication. Architect Jan Bočan played a crucial role in its realization. After Czechoslovakia's dissolution in 1993, the building accommodates both Slovak and Czech embassies, with the Czech Embassy facing Notting Hill Gate.

The Sklenak building in Prague's Bubenec district, once the Land Bank's residential headquarters, is a pre-war architectural masterpiece completed in 1937. It stands out for its innovative features, including floor heating and underground garages, the first ever in Prague. Despite historical influences, the building seamlessly integrates modern practicalities, offering easy access to light and air. The Sklenak building exemplifies the best of new architecture, distinctively blending functionality and aesthetics.

The Bagsværd Church, designed by Jørn Utzon, is located in Bagsværd near Copenhagen. Influenced by Nordic wooden churches and Chinese Buddhist monasteries, its design features modular open outbuildings with a ceramic-clad façade. The vertical concrete elements emphasize the building's structure. The interior showcases weightless, ascending concrete shells inspired by the sky and clouds, creating a luminous atmosphere. The church and parish buildings are arranged in a rectangle with characteristic patios, and a top-lit circulation area runs along the north side. Utzon's design, influenced by Hawaii, results in a unique and evanescent architectural character.

Israels Plads in Copenhagen has a rich history reflecting the city's transformation. Once a market square, it later became a lifeless carpark in the 1950s. The new elevated plaza hovers above the former carpark, symbolically concealing cars in an underground garage. Serving as a transition between city and park, the plaza features an organic pattern of trees and sculptural elements recalling its fortifications past. The surface, designed as a large urban playground, accommodates various activities, including unique facilities like round bench formations and green oases. The goal is to celebrate the site's history and revitalize it into a vibrant, diverse space for leisure, culture, and public events.

Grundtvig's Church, located in Copenhagen's Bispebjerg district, is an iconic example of expressionist church architecture, named after Danish philosopher N. F. S. Grundtvig. It is celebrated as one of Denmark's most significant architectural works, influencing subsequent generations of architects. Designed by Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint, the construction began in 1921, with completion in 1940 by Kaare Klint. The church, made of yellow bricks, stands at the center of a residential development, creating a harmonious ensemble. Its west facade, featuring a 49m tall bell tower, showcases the building's impressive design. The interior, reminiscent of Gothic architecture, accommodates a congregation of 1,800, with a spacious layout emphasizing verticality.

Funded by the Nordea Denmark Fund, the Tietgen Dormitory near Copenhagen University aims to be a reference project for the "dormitory of the future." Housing 400 students, its circular form responds to the consistent building structure in Ørestad North. The sculptural expression combines a circular shape symbolizing community with individual, projecting volumes for residences. The cylindrical volume organizes residences along the perimeter with communal functions facing the inner courtyard. The dynamic design seeks to balance the collective and individual aspects of a dormitory, creating a bold architectural statement in the newly planned area.

DISSING+WEITLING Architecture's Bicycle Snake, a 190-meter-long steel ramp/bridge, resolves the conflict between cyclists and pedestrians near Fisketorvet shopping center. The elevated structure separates cyclists and pedestrians, providing a safe and efficient route for the 12,500 daily cyclists. With a bright orange color and illumination at night, it serves as a visually striking guide. The design improves the area's aesthetics and offers a recreational space. DISSING+WEITLING also developed concepts for Super Cycle tracks, aiming to enhance commuter cycling conditions for a better urban environment.

COBE designed Tingbjerg Library and Culture House, opened in 2018, as a landmark building in Copenhagen, Denmark. It serves as an urban catalyst, contributing to social and cultural activities in the marginalized Tingbjerg area. The building, resembling a large wedge-shaped shell, is an extension to Tingbjerg School. With a transparent glass facade inspired by an old-fashioned typeset case, the design offers visibility into multifunctional rooms. The heart of the building features an open foyer with shifting floor plates, creating a dynamic space reminiscent of a small mountain village. The choice of materials, including yellow brick baguettes and warm wooden plywood lamellas, pays homage to Tingbjerg's modernist architectural language. COBE's design aims to blend with and challenge the neighborhood's materiality and formal expression, respecting its architectural history while creating a distinct identity.

Designed in 1935 by Kay Fisker in collaboration with Povl Baumann and Knud Hansen, the Storgården residential development stands as a monumental example of functional living. The long, straight house features a subtle yet refined swing at the northern end, emphasizing its strict architectural attitude. The 280-meter-long facades highlight balconies arranged in a strict, uniform pattern, creating a new form of monumentality. While modest in size, these carefully designed balconies serve as private spaces, providing additional living space for the functional two-room apartments and connecting residents to light and fresh air. The garden-side balconies resemble over-sized armchairs. Despite the removal of balconies facing Tomsgårdsvej during a later renovation, Storgården shares exterior spaces with the nearby Bispebjer school.

The Dronningegard apartment building, designed by Kay Fisker just outside Copenhagen's historic center, was part of a significant slum clearance program in the early 1940s. It emerged from a complex planning process influenced by wartime scarcities. The housing shortage and political decisions led to a dense program, resulting in a mixture of small apartments. The complex, laid out in a large quadrangle plan, exudes neoclassical monumentality but maintains a human scale through the division into slim, nine-story buildings with lower intermediates. The courtyard, envisioned as a park by Fisker, became a car park. The brick façades, featuring careful detailing, use red and yellow Danish brick to break monumentality. The complex contains about 624 apartments with 20 vertical circulation points, including commercial spaces on the ground floor facing Borgergade.

Copenhagen's Harbour Bath is a key element in the city's transformation from an industrial port to a cultural hub. Unlike traditional swimming facilities, it provides an urban harbor landscape with dry-docks, piers, and more. Embracing a beach-like atmosphere, it prioritizes socializing and enjoyment. The design balances capacity and safety, accommodating up to 600 visitors for both water and land activities. Serving as an icon of new possibilities in the reclaimed harbor, it symbolizes leisure and aquatic culture in the heart of the city.