BIG BIO Nordhavn

Denmark's first Gold-certified cinema

How do you close façades so that feature films can be projected onto a large screen, while ensuring architecture that contributes to a vibrating cultural life in a new and densely populated area? On the last building plot in the prestigious Nordhavn in Copenhagen, we designed the eye-catching cinema BIG BIO, which is Denmark's first Gold-certified cinema.
  • NREP
    Client
  • EKJ Rådgivende Ingeniører
    Engineer
  • Vestergaard Nielsen A / S
    Turnkey Contractor
  • HAI Horsens
    Facade
  • Location
    Hamborg Plads, Nordhavn, Copenhagen
  • Year
    2017 - 2019
  • Size
    6.531 m2
  • Certification
    DGNB Gold
  • Architect
    Arkitema
  • Awards
    Thin Sheet Award 2022 | The Aluminum Award 2022

With a single and convincing touch, we created a building where perforated façade cladding with pleated folds brings memories of the classic stage curtain as we know it from the very first cinemas. Behind this curtain, films can confidently provide cinematic experiences and the city is invited in when the curtain on the ground floor is raised, disclosing its transparent lower floor with shops and cafés. At the same time, the curtain is elegantly drawn aside at one end of the building where the lobby and staircase room lead movie goers up through the building to a total of five cinemas with a seating capacity for 650 people or further up to the restaurant at the top of the building.

Arkitema Big Bio 02 Photo Michael Ellehammer web

Situated next to an urban square, the reddish brown, anodised sheets on the façade go well with the colours in the surroundings, and the wavy outline and perforation of the building ensure a visual experience where light and shadows create unimaginable patterns during the day.

The ground floor and the top floor of the building do not have any load-bearing or reinforcing walls, which makes it easy to move and set up new walls. Moreover, the shell is designed for live loads corresponding to the level used for building stadium stands. Therefore, it is easy to change the use of all storeys to literally anything – music events, exhibitions, sport events or small-scale business.

The project is the first cinema in Denmark to be certified according to DGNB Gold level.
Arkitema Big Bio 06 Photo Michael Ellehammer web