The auditorium at Carlsberg Campus has been redesigned to better match the actual needs and thus achieve a higher utilisation of the room. Carlsberg Campus educates teachers, pedagogues, sign language interpreters and textile mediators, and teaching here is centred around dialogue and group work rather than one-way communication to large groups, as the original layout suggested. Kathrine Wang Esbjørn has been responsible for the entire process, from workshops and analyses to defining needs and obtaining quotes. The project is ready for DGNB space certification if the client wishes.
Copenhagen
Denmark
University College Copenhagen
2024
Prepared for DGNB Space certification
Space planning, interior design, DGNB consultancy
A more versatile auditorium with a focus on community
University College Copenhagen wanted to create a new auditorium design that not only increases capacity, but also strengthens community and collaboration. The goal is to optimise teaching and bring teachers and students closer together.
The auditorium is designed with flexible seating, with a choice of soft sofas, office chairs or bench-like seating on the balcony. The space offers two types of tables: the traditional auditorium table for studying and the café table for socialising and group work.
The interior design, developed in close collaboration with Barlby Carlsson, combines elements of both cinema and café atmosphere, allowing you to gather for group work while following lessons and presentations on screen.
Need for remodelling
Through a process consisting of workshops, needs clarification/analysis and user involvement it became clear that the original, traditional auditorium did not meet the didactic needs of the University College's programmes.
There were several challenges with the original layout:
- The auditorium was not big enough to accommodate 2 teams of 40 people
- It was not possible to do group work
- The indoor climate was not optimal
All in all, this meant that the auditorium was underutilised.
