Postgården

Over time, several buildings have been added or built, so that the Postgård complex today has a total of ten buildings from different ages, which thus take up almost an entire square. Through a three-year process, we have carried out a gentle renovation and revitalization of the old post office’s 16,000 m2.

Postgården is located on one of the busiest shopping streets in Copenhagen, but with its closed facades and tall windows has so far rejected the city. The vision for the transformation has therefore been to open up the square and invite the public inside. The task was to take a well-known place in Copenhagen – which in its original function functioned as a workplace for several hundred people – and re-establish it as a central and active place in the city with businesses.

A gentle renovation with respect for history

Postgården is a building that many Copenhageners and historians have a relationship with. Therefore, it has been crucial to renovate the building gently and carefully with a focus on preserving the historical characteristics as best as possible. It has therefore been crucial to understand and see the qualities of the existing building mass in order to preserve and emphasize the details that emphasize the building’s special history.

In the renovation of Postgården, a total change of the building’s appearance was deliberately not made. By studying the old drawings, the house’s qualities have been preserved, and with respect for the architecture and history, it has been delicately adapted to today’s requirements – i.a. improved and level-free access from the street to all tenancies on the ground floor has been established.

Certain parts of the building complex from 1729 are listed, and here a particularly gentle processing of the facade and interior has been carried out with respect for the conservation values. In addition, there has been collaboration throughout the process with specialists and craftsmen with experience from conservation tasks.

Recreated as an open and active part of the city

When Postgården, in its original function, functioned as a post office and distribution center for delivery, the building accommodated 700 men on a daily basis who handled and cycled out mail – the building was a living and open part of Købmagergade. Since then, the building has stood almost empty, and when the client took over, there were only 40 employees.

Based on a thorough potential analysis of the building and its surroundings, it was decided to redevelop the property into a new setting for a number of companies, showrooms and retail stores, and in this way workplaces have today been recreated for 800 employees in the renovated Postgården. Today, Postgården houses Danish furniture and design brands such as Fritz Hansen and Fredericia Furniture as well as companies such as Unity, Momondo and H&M’s new ARKET store.

The main architectural measures have been to open the enclosed property towards the city with large, open shop fronts on the ground floor, where the shops belong. On the other floors, spacious office tenancies have been established with plenty of natural daylight, while the rooftops have been extended and turned into common outdoor recreational areas for the enjoyment of the building’s employees.

With the revitalization, a stream of people have thus been added, who go about their daily business in the building, and thus Postgården has once again become a living house that gives something back to the city. The previously somewhat passive part of Købmagergade has, after the transformation, become a natural and integrated part of city life with a direct link to Strøget, which has also had a positive impact on business life and the smaller businesses in the immediate area.

To reflect the changed behavior around Postgården, landscape architects are working on an upgrade of the surrounding streets, where, among other things, new surfaces are being laid in Valkendorfstræde and Løvstræde. In addition, traffic is being rerouted so that cars are now part of the urban environment on the basis of pedestrians.

The transformation has thus not only had an impact on the property alone, but has lifted the whole neighborhood and created an exciting commercial environment that affects the surrounding business and urban environment.