Dansehallerne National Center For Dance And Choreography / Mikkelsen Architects

Architects: Mikkelsen Architects
Area: 4500 m²
Year: 2024
Photographs: Adam Mørk
Category: Cultural Architecture, Dance Hall
Design Team: Mikkelsen Arkitekter
City: København
Country: Denmark

Kedelhuset transformation into Dansehallerne’s national center for contemporary dance and choreography designed by Mikkelsen Architects in København has adapted the building’s industrial past into a new cultural facility that integrates performance, education, and public engagement. Completed through a strategy of preservation and contrast, the project maintains the conservation values of the original hall while inserting new architectural elements that resonate with the site’s historic function. The centerpiece is a newly built performance box—clad in raw aluminum and perforated sine plates—recalling the hall’s former boilers and incorporating sound-absorbent materials for acoustic performance. The space is adaptable, equipped with retractable seating and large insulating doors, allowing transformation from performance to multifunctional use. Above the foyer, a studio links education with performance by giving observers visual access to rehearsal activity. The box’s rooftop studio further extends creative possibilities. Elements such as annealed steel stairs and restored overhead conveyors reinterpret the building’s industrial features, aligning contemporary function with heritage logic. The roof has been re-insulated with mineral wool for acoustic control, preserving the visual appearance of the timber ceiling and board-formed concrete surfaces. Independent acoustic rafts and exposed installations preserve the hall’s utilitarian spatial language.

Dansehallerne national center for dance and choreography / mikkelsen architects

Mikkelsen Architects has led the transformation of Kedelhuset into Dansehallerne’s new national center for contemporary dance and choreography. The architectural strategy was to preserve the building’s conservation values while introducing new additions that enter into dialogue with the historical framework, allowing old and new elements to reinforce one another. The ground floor is organized around a central core containing a foyer and bar, with studios, dressing rooms, and workshops extending outward.

A central feature of the intervention is a new box inserted within the hall. It contains a black box stage, backstage zones, and additional foyer spaces. This new structure draws on the site’s industrial legacy, referencing the large boilers once housed there. Its exterior is clad in raw aluminum and perforated sine plates, backed by acoustically absorbent mineral wool or glass panels. Its layered transparency and operable components enhance its mechanical expression. The box’s wave-shaped profile evokes a stage curtain and relates visually to the draped façade curtains used for both daylight regulation and acoustic control.

Adaptability is central to the box’s design. Sound-insulating doors link the foyer to the hall, allowing spatial transitions for various uses. A retractable telescopic stand can disappear into a wall niche, enabling the box to present a neutral frontage when needed. A studio above the foyer opens toward the main hall, creating a connection between performance and education. This space gives school groups visual access to behind-the-scenes activity. The roof of the inserted box hosts a multipurpose studio overlooking the hall, broadening the range of spatial programs. Industrial heritage is retained and reinterpreted throughout. Stairs and fittings made from annealed steel reference the original black iron walkways used by technicians. Restored overhead conveyors, once used for moving equipment, now serve the hall’s technical systems.

The hall’s roof has undergone acoustic and thermal upgrades. Its central timber structure has been re-insulated with mineral wool and finished with cover strips replicating the original ceiling pattern, introducing approximately 850 m² of discreet acoustic performance. Lower concrete roof surfaces have been insulated externally to maintain the visual impact of the original board-formed finish. Acoustic rafts are suspended independently from the structural system, preserving the open industrial character. Exposed technical installations throughout the project reflect Kedelhuset’s past as a production facility.