Former slaughterhouse repurposed to vocational school

Tenderstream member Cobe - in collaboration with Wissenberg - has won the competition to transform one of the largest technical schools in Denmark, Zealand Business College (ZBC). A 1960s slaughterhouse in Roskilde will be adapted to house the vocational school, opening up a previously enclosed and underutilised building to create a new face for the ZBC campus that will serve as both an inspiring educational hub and a welcoming space for the public. 

The design process is grounded in a careful mapping of the existing architecture - from white tiles and blue concrete beams, to glass bricks and industrial features. A holistic approach to transformation considered social, environmental and economic factors, working with the building’s original logic and reusing existing materials as much as possible. By prioritising reuse, the majority of the design budget is allocated specifically to the areas that are being transformed. 

A new main entrance is inspired by the logic of the existing 1960s slaughterhouse, which features defined, heavy brick volumes with open areas in between. While the delivery area currently appears closed and inaccessible, the new entrance will be clear, transparent, and accessible, with direct access to the building’s two levels. Inside and outside merge, with functions within the building visually or physically flowing out to activate the arrival forecourt, which forms a public space that reorientates the building to engage with its surroundings.

Inside, the existing architecture gives form to flexible, transparent specialised classrooms and study spaces that foster collaboration and learning, while event areas and a food hall enhance a feeling of connection. These spaces will be connected by a generous study environment which establishes a central spine for the campus, allowing its users to move seamlessly from the public areas into more specialised classrooms, blending the boundaries between learning and doing. 

The project is made possible by a donation from the A.P. Møller Foundation, and is expected to be completed in 2029.

Lucy Nordberg
Tenderstream Head of Research

This tender was first published by Tenderstream on 23.09.2024 here

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