Floating lightness Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Kastrup (DK)

The new headquarter of the pharmaceutical company Ferring Pharmaceuticals in Kastrup, Denmark virtually floats above the water. Geberit expertise was needed to make the optical lightness of the construction up to the glass dome possible.

The new headquarters of the pharmaceutical company Ferring Pharmaceuticals is an eye-catcher in every respect. Located in Kastrup, on the outskirts of Copenhagen, this six-storey building towers above the low-rise development of the neighbourhood. The location further emphasises its character as a solitaire: surrounded by water on all three sides, the triangular building marks the border between land and water.

The imposing glass façade of the entire building contributes to this. From the inside, it offers a breathtaking view of the Öresund strait between Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden. At the same time, daylight flows easily into the interior, creating light-flooded spaces for offices, the entrance lobby, a café and conference rooms.

The heart of the building is an atrium, an interior space from which the surrounding rooms can be reached via a staircase or glass lifts. A glass dome towers above the atrium, providing additional natural light.

This glass construction of the roof was also one of the biggest challenges in this project for Foster&Partners architects. The building's direct location on the Baltic Sea requires a robust construction, as it has to withstand wind and weather during the winter storms. The roof drainage of the huge domed roof and the roof overhang on all three sides also presented Geberit with an extraordinary task. In addition to the water supply systems, the company also contributed the Pluvia roof drainage system to the project. “Our technical department had to make special calculations to find the right location and construction for the installation of the Pluvia drainage system,“ says Lennarth Dahl, who advised the construction company Dtek on the use of Geberit products. “We had to take into account exactly how the rainwater would seep from the dome onto the roof so that the roof drainage system would work optimally.“

The roof drainage system takes into account the special wind and precipitation conditions of the location - and helps to make this solitaire with its glass cladding appear floatingly light from near and far.