Valby “Tingsted” (earlier than 1865)
Drawing from Valby Local History Archive
The Danish Parliament Hall
Photo by Johan Wessman
The visitor entrance is inspired by the “Tingsted” - a place for all to meet and discuss common matters.
The Danish Parliament is something special. It is open, equal and for everyone. Still, we probably don’t think too much about it on a daily basis. Our democratically elected People’s Assembly has historic roots in the “Tingsted”- a highly defined outdoor space for local debate and governance. Scattered throughout all of Denmark, and dating back to ancient times, these places were demarcated in the landscape by stones and wood, providing a physical framework for early governance. The “Tingsted” is the functional and physical prototype for today’s houses of Parliament and for modern democracy in the Nordics.
parliament for
everyone
We would like to show everyone – visitors, employees and elected representatives – that the Danish people’s parliament is something special. We would like to communicate that it is open and it is for everyone – while still effective, safe and secure. We wish to show that it respects our historic and cultural heritage- that the new Parliament is the modern “Tingsted” for the whole of Denmark.
The new visitor entrance of the Parliament is a meeting place for all.
reuse, renew
Slotsholmen in Copenhagen is a place of a living and dynamic cultural heritage and of public governance - an island within the city and the center of power throughout 1,000 years of history. The project expands the Parliament’s buildings with a new visitor entrance in the Parliament Courtyard, provides new security facilities and transforms the former National Archive Buildings into parliamentary uses and citizen-oriented spaces.
The island of Slotsholmen is a place of history and power. It has been in constant evolution from the days of Bishop Absalon from 1128-1201, to the absolute monarchy from 1660-1849, to the rise of a people’s government. Photo: Luftfotodanmark
Site plan of Slotsholmen - the island of the Danish Government
1. Christiansborg Palace – home of the Danish Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Ministry of State
2. Parliament Courtyard with new visitor entrance
3. Former National Archive Buildings
4. Library Garden
Image top: Christiansborg Palace
Image middle: The former National Archive Buildings seen from the Library Garden, Photographer: Dan Ravneberg Nielsen
Image bottom: Parliament Courtyard with Christiansborg Palace to the left and the former National Archive Buildings to the right. Photographer: Ólafur Steinar Rye Gestsson
Future capacity and flow will be improved significantly by including the buildings vacated by the National Archive to the building stock of the Parliament. A new underground extension will connect the Parliament with the former Archive Buildings and ensure a continued and a common functionality.
The existing building structure of dead-ends will be transformed with new connections between buildings of the Parliament and Royal Representation.
Today there is no connection between the Parliament Building and the former National Archives Building. In the future, the buildings will be connected by a new underground visitor center and a connection building on the 2nd floor.
The historic building complex on the island of Slotsholmen is built symmetrically around main axes and circles. Each important entrance and connection can be found on these axes. The new circular visitor entrance will be placed in the longitudinal axis of the Parliament Courtyard and the new underground main connection along the Courtyard’s cross-axis.
connectivity through
a holistic approach
The new arrival view in the Parliament Courtyard with the visitor entrance and singular tree.
The new visitor entrance is an outdoor democratic meeting place. Inside the buildings various political gatherings, meetings and debates will take place.
The Parliament Courtyard is an important, historic and multi-functional urban space that even today is accessible to all of us. The new visitor entrance is designed as an open, inviting meeting place and an integral part of the Courtyard. We want to preserve the existing flows of the square and its ability to host events critical to our democracy. The project amplifies the pulsating, diverse life that makes Christiansborg Palace something very special and becomes an seamless part of arrival to the Parliament.
Top: Ukrainian President Zelensky’s visit to Denmark, with the crowd in the Parliament Courtyard, 2023. Photo: DR
Below: The everyday life of cyclist commuting through the Parliament Courtyard. Photo: Francisco Tirado
In the new Parliament Courtyard the existing ascending stairs for the politicians and the new descending stairs for the people reflect one another in their geometries, constructed of circles and ovals.
The existing ascending main staircase to Christiansborg and the new descending visitor entrance’s amphitheater and staircase become the two main elements in the urban space. Up, down and around theses stairs flows the daily life of the square. The stairs reflect one another in their geometries, constructed of circles and ovals. Each stair is an integral part of the two axes of the Parliament Courtyard.
With its inspiration from the historic democratic meeting place of the “Tingsted”, the entrance is shaped as a circular, open meeting place with amphitheater stairs for seating. At the foot of the stairs stands the “People’s Tree”- a single imposing tree that symbolizes the roots of democracy and gives the urban space a sensorial and welcoming character.
Diagrammatic images showing the new visitor entrance with amphitheater seating and a single tree and the underground structure of arches.
The new underground visitor center and entrance will connect to Christiansborg Palace and the former National Archive Buildings under Parliament Courtyard.
It should be easy to find your way around the Parliament’s buildings. We propose an intuitive and functional flow, linked to central axes and good visual connections - both in the public realm of the Courtyard and in the new spaces underneath.
Its solitary tree and a long ringing bench make the visitor entrance a welcoming place to gather in and around.
The connected halls and flow of the buildings.
secure
parliament
Today all citizens of Denmark and other guests can visit the Parliament. In large parts of the buildings one can be accompanied through the same rooms used by the elected politicians, the employees and the press. The implementation of modern security solutions and good connections between the buildings in the new expansion of the Parliament will ensure that our democracy will continue to be accessible and even more open.
The amphitheater, a space for gathering and observing the daily life of the square, meeting before and after a visit, is a natural meeting point for a group introduction to the Danish Parliament.
Longitudinal section though Parliament Courtyard and visitor entrance. The underground arched space is robust and will be furnished with modern security solutions while maintaining its signature spatial character and qualities.
Ground floor plan showing the Parliament Courtyard framed by the existing buildings of Christiansborg Palace and the former National Archive Buildings with the new entrance opening up to the spaces below.
From the circular meeting place, visitors are invited inside, to a generous and bright space with archways. The large, flexible space is zoned into a section for security, a connecting concourse and the visitors center- an open space designed for an exhibition about people’s government and the Danish constitution and flanked by activity rooms.
Plan of the lower level, visitor entrance and connection between the existing buildings. The open and arched column-grid space is robust and future-proof, open for adaptation over time.
politics and a
good place to work
The former National Archive Buildings will be restored and transformed from a static mono-functional use to a living and multi-functional house. The new uses are placed so that synergies occur and the building’s existing, spatial qualities come into play. An eatery, exhibition space, committee rooms with public access and internal workplaces are among the planned functions.
The former National Archive Buildings with new functions.
We want to bring the vibrancy of everyday life that characterizes Christiansborg today into the visitor center and the former National Archive Buildings. By simple and clear zoning, areas are created for interaction as well as for immersion.
Diagrammatic image showing the new central staircase in the former National Archives Buildings
Diagrammatic image showing the visitor area by the new underground visitor entrance
closed archive to an open
house of democracy
The cultural heritage buildings and the new construction are linked by a common vocabulary of arches.
Archetypal to the group of buildings on Slotsholmen is the arch. Arches have been used to articulate entrances and to connect the various buildings constructed over many centuries. The arch is used in a similar yet contemporary way for the new underground visitor center.
The Parliament Courtyard will be subtly lit in the darker hours as a welcoming urban space.
The protected former National Archive Buildings have a long history of changing use and transformation. Originally built as the royal treasury, they were transformed into the Archives and will now find new use as a living house of democracy. New functions will be carefully inserted, preserving the traces of the building’s 300-year history.
The former National Archive Buildings was originally built as a royal treasury for King Frederik III in 1673. After a fire in 1884 at Christiansborg only the facades of the building remained. The buildings were then converted into the National Archive after a comprehensive transformation in 1907.
The former National Archive Buildings will accommodate new committee rooms with seats for the public and the press. The parliamentary committees are a central element in the function of the parliamentary system. It is the Parliament’s desire to make the people’s government more open, accessible and engaging by empowering visitors to get a peek into its engine room.
Audience is seated on two balconies and in niches in the walls along the meeting table. With the help of translucent curtains, it is possible to have flexible views and to control the daylight. The rooms can appear open and can be closed as needed.
The open, flexible committee rooms within the former National Archive Buildings are designed for visitors to have the opportunity to attend the meetings from the audience seats.
of resources
Christiansborg Palace itself is built upon field stones from all Danish parishes and with building materials from the entire geographic realm of Denmark. We want to carry on this tradition and shape a resource-conscious project that uses local solutions, craft traditions and materials. At the same time the project should support the green transition and innovation within the Danish construction industry.
Responsible use of resources
Materials will be recycled on site and will add new, visible layers to the building’s history. In the former Archive Buildings the shelving will be processed, refined and reused as wall panels in the committee rooms. The floor decking will be reused as suspended acoustic ceilings. The brick interior walls will be preserved. Existing surplus bricks can be both reused as aggregates in new cast floors, or can be included in the arches supporting the square and allowing for its underground construction.
Materials will be reused or recycled on site, such as materials from the former National Archive Buildings in the committee rooms.
The existing granite pavement will be reused in the new paving pattern in the Parliament Courtyard.
Life cycle analyses will be used throughout the project to assess the most resource-conscious choices of materials and systems. This tool allows to balance the use of new materials from regional producers with the use of existing recycled and re-purposed materials and building parts found on site. Given the cultural significance of the complex, consideration will also be given to the protected parts of the Parliament buildings.
“The clever basement” - initial LCA screening of building parts
