Biogen

  • Client

    Biogen Idec (Denmark) Manufacturing ApS

  • Collaborators

    Birch & Krogboe A/S, Arup og Jacobs Engineering, Per Aarsleff A/S, NCC Construction Danmark A/S, MTH A/S

  • Location

    Biogen Alle 1, DK-3400 Hillerød

  • Area

    40,000 m2

  • Status

    Completed in 2008

Biogen

Biogen is one of the largest biotech companies in the world. Biogen’s first high-tech production facility in Europe is located in Hillerød near Favrholm and the Novo Nordisk Hillerød Campus. That means Biogen is rooted in a strong biotech environment with space for expansions, not far from Copenhagen, or the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

In addition to the building complex, Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects devised the master plan for the area, which integrates the beautiful topography with the architecture and safeguards the view of Frederiksborg Castle. The gentle North Zealand landscape runs past the production buildings so that, despite their size, they come across as refined wings – rather like traditional farm buildings nestling in the landscape.

The complex includes offices, laboratories, production, and supply buildings, and storage and packing facilities.

The façades are clad with slate and meet the ground with no distinct footing, so the wings come across as large monoliths in direct contact with nature. Steel and glass connecting buildings with horizontal slats on the outside act as airy intermediaries for the principal buildings.

The Large Scale Manufacturing facility is located on the lowest spot on the site. Together with the milky-white glass cladding, a clear contrast to the slate buildings, this helps make the production facility seem smaller in the vast landscape.

The concept of the production is based on the actual flow of production through the complex. So the project is structured around a ‘spine’, to which the individual production functions relate.

Biogen can accommodate minor expansions of the individual functions and can eventually double their production facilities. The plan allocates the 246,000m² plot for the first phases and future expansions of the complex, taking into account the process-related and technical requirements.

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