The new transparent dome of the Aarhus Botanical Garden. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

25/10/2021. [Aarhus] Denmark
metalocus, MARÍA ONSINA

The architecture studio C.F. Møller has designed the project to expand the Aarhus Botanical Garden in Denmark, adding to the complex a new greenhouse for tropical plants that replaces the old one.

The building, inspired by organic and oval plant shapes, is presented as a transparent dome, built with light materials, and focused on minimum energy consumption, taking advantage of the orientation of the construction.

Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

Ground floor. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

Roof. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

Diagram. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

East elevation. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

North elevation. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

West elevation. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

South elevation. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

Section. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

Rendering. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

Sketch. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

Diagram. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

The team of architects C.F. Mølle has also worked on the restoration of the main greenhouse of the Botanical Garden built in 1969. Its characteristic shape, similar to that of a snail, has made the building a highly recognizable national architectural icon.

The new project adapts to the pre-existing construction, adjusting to its circulations and solutions, producing a fluid space from the inside to the outside, from one greenhouse to the other.

Description of project by C.F. Møller

The new tropical conservatory at the Botanical Gardens in Aarhus is like a drop of dew in its green surroundings. Sustainable design, new materials and advanced computer technology went into the creation of the hothouse's organic form.

The snail-shaped hothouse in the Botanic Garden in Aarhus is a national icon in hothouse architecture. It was designed in 1969 by C.F. Møller Architects, and is well adapted to its surroundings. Accordingly, it was important to bear the existing architectural values in mind when designing a new hothouse to replace the former palm house which had been literally outgrown.

"The competition sought an independent and distinctive new palm house, but it was essential for us to ensure that the new building would function well in interplay with the old one," says Tom Danielsen, architect and partner with C.F. Møller Architects.

The organic form and the large volume, in which the public can go exploring among the tree-tops, present botany and a journey through the different climate zones in a way which makes the new hothouse in Aarhus an attraction in a pan-European class in hothouse architecture.

An assortment of tropical plants, trees and flowers fills the interior of the greenhouses transparent dome set on an oval base. A pond is located at the centre of the space, while an elevated platform allows visitors to climb up above the treetops.

Energy design
The design of the new hothouse is based on energy-conserving design solutions and on knowledge of materials, indoor climate and technology.

Using advanced calculations, the architects and engineers have optimised their way to the building's structure, ensuring that its form and energy consumption interact in the best possible manner and make optimal use of sunlight. The domed shape and the building's orientation in relation to the points of the compass have been chosen because this precise format gives the smallest surface area coupled with the largest volume, as well as the best possible sunlight incidence in winter, and the least possible in summer.

The transparent dome is clad with ETFE foil cushions with an interior pneumatic shading system. The support structure consists of 10 steel arches, which fan out around a longitudinal and a transverse axis, creating a net of rectangles of varying sizes. On the south-facing side, the cushions used were made with three layers, two of which were printed. Through changes in pressure, the relative positions of these printed foils can be adjusted. This can reduce or increase, as desired, the translucence of the cushions, changing the light and heat input of the building.

Botanical knowledge centre
The total project also includes a comprehensive restoration of the old hothouse, in which the palm house becomes a new botanical knowledge centre aimed at the general public, at the same time as the complex is extended with the new tropical hothouse.

More information

Architects

C.F. Møller Architects.

Collaborators

Steel load-bearing structures.- Søren Jensen A/S. Foil cushion planning.- formTL GmbH.

Client

Aarhus University and Danish University & Property Agency.

Area

3300sqm (1242sqm new tropical hothouse and 2071sqm renovation and rebuild of existing hothouse).

Dates

2009-2013.

Location

Botanical Gardens, Aarhus, Denmark.

K. Hyttel, M. Mandrup Hansen, K. Toustrup, J. Weyer, L. Wiggers, M. Kruse, C. Dahle, M. Leringe, L. Bendorf. C.F. Møller

C.F. Møller is owned by a partner group consisting of Klaus Toustrup, Lone Wiggers, Christian Dahle, Lone Bendorff, Klavs Hyttel, Julian Weyer, Mads Mandrup Hansen, Michael Kruse, and Mårten Leringe.

C.F. Møller Architects is one of the leading architecture firms in Scandinavia, with 90 years of award-winning work in the Nordic region and around the world.

Every day they create architectural quality based on innovation, experience and Nordic values. This ensures sustainable and aesthetic solutions with lasting value for customers, occupants and society.

Its design solutions are created in a methodical and holistic way following a rigorous analysis of the local context. They seek to set new global standards by fostering a design approach that uniquely integrates urban planning, landscape, architecture, and the design of specific building components.

They regard environmental concerns, resource awareness, healthy project finances, social responsibility, and good craftsmanship as essential elements of their work. This spirit is central to all their projects, a thread that runs from master planning to detailed design.

Since their founding in Denmark in 1924, they have contributed significantly to the development of welfare societies in Scandinavia and the rest of the world. They are continually recognized and awarded internationally for setting new architectural standards, due to their strong focus on the functional, artistic and social value of architecture.

Today C.F. Møller has application. 300 employees. They have offices in Aarhus, Copenhagen, Aalborg, Oslo, Stockholm, Malmö, London and Berlin.

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The new transparent dome of the Aarhus Botanical Garden. Sustainable Hothouse by C.F. Møller Architects

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K. Hyttel, M. Mandrup Hansen, K. Toustrup, J. Weyer, L. Wiggers, M. Kruse, C. Dahle, M. Leringe, L. Bendorf. C.F. Møller

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