Tietgenkollegiet

With its round shape, dynamic facade and high-quality materials, Tietgenkollegiet is one of the finest residential buildings Copenhagen has to offer. And it was built as student housing.

The Tietgen Residence Hall is an award-winning dormitory providing high-quality living for 400 students on limited budgets. Situated a stone’s throw from the open landscape of Amager Common on one side and the busy waterfront of Islands Brygge on another, the circle-shaped dormitory allows its residents to make the most of both nature and urban life.

Its outer façade is covered with tombak and oak, while concrete and birch wood dominate the inner spaces, creating a balance between rough and refined materials. The structure has seven floors intersected by five vertical sections that provide access from the outside to the central courtyard. Here students can take a break on the grass among the tall willow trees that reach towards the sky.

The dormitory takes its form from the traditional circle-shaped tulou buildings from the villages of southeast China. It is at the same time a symbolic and functional reference that weaves together the common and individual life lived in a small village. Every room faces the surrounding city, while the shared spaces and hallways are oriented towards the communal courtyard. The architecture therefore balances what is unique about the dormitory as a building typology: the meeting and merging of individual and collective life.