The Silo / Cobe

Architects: Cobe
Area: 10000 m²
Year: 2017
Photographs: Cobe, Rasmus Hjortshøj – COAST, Maria Gonzalez
Manufacturers: &Tradition, Anker & Co, Ideal Work, Randi, Skandinaviska Glassystem, Swedoor
Landscape Architect: COBE
Contractor: NRE Denmark
Engineers: Balslev and Wessberg
Clients: Klaus Kastbjerg, NRE Denmark
City: Copenhagen
Country: Denmark

The Silo, designed by COBE, is a key part of Copenhagen’s Nordhavn redevelopment, transforming a 17-story grain silo into a mixed-use building with 38 unique apartments and public functions. The concrete facade was reclad in galvanized steel to maintain the structure’s shape and protect the raw interior. Apartments range from 106 m² to 401 m², featuring multi-level layouts, ceiling heights up to 7 meters, and panoramic views of the city and Oresund coast. Public spaces include a top-floor restaurant in a mirrored glass box with 360-degree views and a flexible event space on the ground floor. Dan Stubbergaard, COBE’s founder, highlights the project’s focus on revitalizing industrial heritage, turning the silo into an urban landmark and cultural destination. Completed in May 2017, The Silo demonstrates the potential of adaptive reuse in urban development.

The Silo is a key project in the ongoing transformation of Copenhagen’s Nordhavn (North Harbour), a large post-industrial area being redeveloped into a new urban district. Designed by Danish architects COBE for clients Klaus Kastbjerg and NRE Denmark, the project involved converting a 17-story former grain silo—the largest industrial building in the area—into a mixed-use structure containing residential apartments and public functions.

Transformation from Within
To modernize The Silo’s industrial concrete facade, the exterior was reclad while the interior was preserved as raw and untouched as possible. An angular, faceted facade made of galvanized steel was installed to act as a climate shield, enabling the building to meet current standards while maintaining its characteristic slender, tall shape.

Dan Stubbergaard, Founder and Creative Director of COBE, explained that the design aimed to preserve The Silo’s original character by retaining both its monolithic exterior and its majestic concrete interior. He described the approach as “draping it with a new overcoat” to transform the structure from the inside out, allowing its new inhabitants and the surrounding urban life to emphasize its identity and heritage. The galvanized steel facade was chosen for its ability to patinate over time, maintaining a raw, industrial aesthetic that reflects the area’s harbor history, lending it a rugged beauty reminiscent of its past.

Diverse Living Spaces
The original silo’s spatial variation, shaped by its former use for storing and handling grain, provided the opportunity to create 38 distinct apartments. These include both single and multi-level units, ranging in size from 106 m² to 401 m², with ceiling heights reaching up to 7 meters. Each apartment features panoramic, floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies, with several retaining raw concrete walls to preserve the building’s industrial character. The window frames are concealed within the exterior concrete walls, offering residents expansive views of the city skyline and the Oresund coast.

Blending Private and Public Spaces
The Silo integrates both private living areas and public functions to create a dynamic and engaging building. The top floor features a mirrored glass box that houses a public restaurant, offering 360-degree views of the city and the sea. During the day, the glass facade reflects its surroundings, while at night it glows like a lantern. The ground floor serves as a flexible event space, further activating the building for a variety of uses.

Dan Stubbergaard highlights the importance of combining private housing with public functions to ensure continuous activity within the building. He explains, “Private housing and public functions ensure that the building remains active all day. The public functions at the top and bottom also ensure a multidimensional experience for the various users of the building. From the top you can see almost all of Copenhagen in one panoramic view. It is completely unique, and something all Copenhageners will have the chance to experience.” Stubbergaard further emphasizes that The Silo will not only serve as a residential space but also as a destination and urban focal point for the ongoing Nordhavn development.

Dan Stubbergaard adds, “By revitalizing our industrial heritage, we discover new potential and highlight historical traces in our cities. They represent a built resource. They represent our history. By doing so, we can transform what many people today perceive as industrial trash into treasure.” He emphasizes the value of preserving industrial structures as a way to reconnect with the past while creating new opportunities for urban development.

The Silo was completed in May 2017, with the first residents moving in at that time. The remaining residents are expected to move in over the following months, and the public restaurant on the top floor is scheduled to open later in the year. The ground floor currently hosts an exhibition by CPH City & Port Development, showcasing future development plans for Nordhavn, also designed by COBE.