Conceived as a mobile – made to be moved – office building, the new industrial site of Unionkul in Copenhagen salvages enormous used containers, which are given new life as elements capable of generating an entire project with as much as 90% of the materials recycled.

These containers have been preserved as they originally were, and are arranged with intentions of being pulled apart again, in a simple procedure. They are anchored to the ground by pillars of minimal impact on the terrain, facilitating direct reuse. The perfect optimization with which they are manufactured makes them ideal in functioning as regulators of Scandinavia’s extreme climate. Moreover, the energy cost is minimal and the risk of overheating is practically inexistent.

The cladding of the facade, consisting of high-performance insulation sandwich panels, simultaneously serves as a powerful steam barrier. As for the facilities, they keep conduits exposed to view, facilitating detection of defects in the air conditioning system.

The roof, with its uniform look, gives a sense of coherence to the complex, and enhances the structural details of the actual building. It is protected by a series of sheets of perforated aluminum which reflect light from the bay, and by a layer of acoustic absorber over them to provide the comfort and silence needed in the work areas. This building, a result of pre-fabricated architecture, shows that efficiency, economy, sustainability, and recycling can – and ought to – go hand in hand.