Axel Towers / Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects

Architects: Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects
Area: 23400 m²
Year: 2018
Photographs: Rasmus Hjortshøj, Jens Markus Lindhe, Anders Sune Berg, Lea Jessen
Lead Architects: Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects
Engineers: Niras A/S, COWI A/S, ProCon Danmark Aps
City: København
Country: Denmark

Axel Towers, designed by Lundgaard & Tranberg Architects in Copenhagen, is a mixed-use office complex of five interconnected towers with varying heights and diameters, balancing lightness and solidity. Inspired by Tivoli Gardens, the towers anchor the urban district while offering generous public spaces. The design integrates restaurants, cafés, and shops at street level, with office spaces behind copper-colored facades featuring brise soleil reliefs. In collaboration with the Municipality of Copenhagen, the architects revised the district plan, shifting from a single square building to a tower composition that freed 1,700 m² for public use. This reconfiguration created open spaces between the towers, encouraging movement from all directions. Stairways, lifts, and technical installations are placed in the tower cores, optimizing space for flexible work environments, benefiting primary tenant Gorrissen Federspiel. The redesigned Axeltorv landscape references historic green ramparts, embedding Axel Towers in Copenhagen’s past while enhancing its contemporary urban fabric.

Axel towers / lundgaard & tranberg architects

Axel Towers is a mixed-use office building featuring a diverse composition of niches, varying heights, and diameters that create a balance between lightness and solidity. The five interconnected towers reflect the playfulness of the nearby Tivoli Gardens while maintaining the structural presence needed to anchor a busy area of Copenhagen. Moreover, they provide generous public spaces, enhancing accessibility and engagement for both visitors and the surrounding community.

The design concept embraces an exclusive yet playful and unpretentious character that aligns with Copenhagen’s historic entertainment district. The ground floor features restaurants, cafés, and shops that engage with the public, enhancing the area’s vibrancy. Above, office spaces with expansive city views are situated behind copper-colored facades adorned with brise soleil reliefs. The circular facade design maximizes natural daylight within the workspaces, ensuring a bright and open atmosphere while maintaining panoramic views of the city.

To develop a mixed-use office building that would contribute to the urban environment, the design team collaborated with the Municipality of Copenhagen and the client to revise the district plan. The original proposal featured a square building occupying the entire plot, but through productive discussions, the plan was modified to allow for greater building height. This change freed 1,700 m², enabling the creation of public spaces within the square and between the tower volumes. The design, consisting of partially intertwined towers, breaks away from the traditional block structure. With no defined front or back, Axel Towers is accessible from all directions, allowing free movement across the square and through the building. Broad staircases and an elevated inner square provide quiet public areas, reinforcing its role as a stabilizing element within the dynamic cityscape.

Stairways, lifts, and technical installations are positioned within the tower cores, maximizing space for expansive and well-lit work areas along the facades. This layout has provided new opportunities for workspace organization, benefiting Gorrissen Federspiel, Axel Towers’ main tenant. The newly designed landscape at Axeltorv reinterprets the historic green ramparts that once defined the area, grounding Axel Towers in Copenhagen’s past while contributing to the vitality of contemporary public life.