With great respect for the existing building and its history, the renovation of the iconic Shell House, located in central Copenhagen, has been completed. Across 7,565 m², the building’s soul and history are now meet modern demands of contemporary working life.

From the outside, the building appears almost as the original from 1951, with the Shell-yellow awnings re-established to highlight its distinctive presence in the cityscape and as a reference to the past. The façade has been repaired where needed, and replacing the windows has significantly improved the building’s energy performance.

Inside, the preservation-worthy elements have been carefully restored to carry the building’s spirit into the present and well into the future. Among these is the in-situ cast staircase, which, at over 70 years old, stands as a testament to the building’s inherent quality – a standard that the renovation sought to uphold. Warm materials such as wood, natural stone, leather, and brass have been introduced to create a durable and comfortable office environment.

The office hotel operator Ordnung+ will now take over the Shell House, which is set to become Denmark’s largest co-working community, accommodating more than 850 workstations.

A witness to history 

Vilhelm Lauritzen designed the iconic building to replace the one that was bombed in 1945 by the Royal Air Force, after the Gestapo had seized it and made it their Danish headquarters.

With the ambition of reviving the original intentions and qualities, the process began by stripping away layers of modernisation accumulated over the decades to gain a clear overview and form a strategy. The result is a modern workplace that resonates with the building’s original architecture and storied past.