3XN's timber-clad arena in residential copenhagen is designed to be a good neighbor

3XN has completed the 35,000 square meter ‘royal arena’ in denmark. somewhat unusually for its typology, the stadium venue is set within a residential area of copenhagen, and has been designed to integrate respectfully with its surroundings. ‘our most important question before starting out the royal arena project was: how do we design a good neighbor for this area?,’ explains kim herfoth nielsen, founder and creative director at 3XN. ‘since the arena is a local building, it was important to us to design it as an aesthetic contribution to the area, and not just a massive concrete block like other stadiums tend to be.’

all images © adam mørk (unless otherwise stated)

3XN worked with HKS architects to design a multi-purpose venue capable of hosting concerts as well as international level sporting events. the brief also called for a building that would serve as a catalyst for the growth of the surrounding district. acting as a link to the adjoining neighborhood, the design features an elevated podium that includes public areas for social interaction and daily activity.

image © rasmus daniel taun

the timber façade not only allows views between inside and out, but also lifts up slightly above entry points in order to make wayfinding easy and logical. the building has an open ground floor and a public plateau at the first storey. internally, the bowl contains a variety of features to improve visitor experience. walls have been angled to improve sightlines, while acoustic surfaces are found throughout.

the design features an elevated podium that includes public areas for social interaction

the venue has been designed to be as flexible as possible, and can be configured in a variety of different ways. the majority of spectators are seated on the three sides of the stage, with the option to accommodate further guests on the fourth side for sporting and cultural events. in concert-mode, the arena floor can be retracted. the royal arena was nominated for ‘sports building of the year’ at the 2017 world architecture festival in berlin. see designboom’s coverage of the event here.

the timber façade lifts up slightly above entry points to improve wayfinding

the building has an open ground floor and a public plateau at the first storey

the timber façade also allows views between inside and out

colorful motifs have been applied to the interior

internally, the bowl contains a variety of features to improve visitor experience

the venue can be configured in a variety of different ways

the venue is capable of hosting concerts as well as international level sporting events

walls have been angled to improve sightlines, while acoustic surfaces are found throughout

the arena is set within a residential area of copenhagen

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project info:

name: royal arena
location: copenhagen, denmark
typology: multi-purpose arena for international concerts, culture and sports events
size: 37,000 sqm
height: 35 meters
capacity: 16,000
seating: 12,500
completion: 2017

client: arena CPHX P/S
architect: 3XN (lead consultant and design architect) & HKS (arena specialist)
engineer: arup, HAMI and ME engineers
landscape architect: planit-IE
team: kim herforth nielsen, jan ammundsen, bo boje larsen, peter feltendal, audun opdal, maria tkacova, jack renteria, robin vind christiansen, dennis carlsson, andreas herborg, anja pedersen, bodil nordstrøm, christian harald hommelhoff brink, gry kjær, ida schøning greisen, jakob wojcik, jan park sørensen, jeanette hansen, juras lasovsky, laila fyhn feldthaus, mads mathias pedersen, marie persson, mikkel vintersborg, pernille ulvig sangvin, sang yeun lee, sebastian le dantec reinhardt, simon hartmann-petersen, stine de bang, sune mogensen, søren nersting, tobias gagner, torsten wang, henrik rømer kania