Interview met Jan Søndergaard architect

A starship that just landed from outer space? Or a lost movie set from Star Wars? That’s what comes to mind the first time one sees this astonishing piece of land-art. Of course, it’s not a spaceship – but a Danish composite factory situated right next to one of Denmark’s busiest motorways just outside the town of Middelfart.
Even though it’s not a spaceship, it is definitely landscape art. No doubt about that. The Fiberline building is so distinctive and unusual that it’s already won several prizes, not least the European Steel Design Award 2007.
The jury awarded the Danish architect and Copenhagen University professor Jan Søndergaard and his architect firm KHR the European Steel Design Award 2007 for the Fiberline building because of its groundbreaking design and the way in which the building rises so magnificently out of the Danish landscape. And for the way he created a 330-metre-long hill that brings together production, product development, administration and logistics all in one unbroken open space. The jury wrote: “Fiberline is an exceptional example of the potential of steel to create slim, light constructions that are at the same time very competitive. The Fiberline building shows how functionality, aesthetics and values can be brought together in a higher unity.”
The Fiberline building was also nominated for the prestigious European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture, also called Mies van der Rohe Prize, in 2007. The prize is given to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Europe.
Rockfon spoke to Jan Søndergaard, the man behind this amazing piece of landscape art.
Søndergaard says he is very inspired by landscapes and wants to let his buildings become a part of the landscape. “I’m very inspired by the Scandinavian universe which is bound by the generations and our relationship to the land and the landscape. And by the light, and the special way the air moves between the mountains when one sails up the fjords. As far as Fiberline is concerned, I was very inspired by the old Viking fortresses with their circular walls such as Trelleborg outside Slagelse and Aggersborg by Limfjorden. Both fortresses were built around 980 AD.
So when it came to Fiberline, I asked myself, ‘is it possible to place a factory and a workplace in the landscape? Could we do that?’ So I thought, ‘could I take a knife and cut three large flaps in the landscape, and then lift them up and put light into them?’ And that’s exactly what we did. It’s a big and very precise form we’ve laid in the landscape which actually contains everything that belongs to the Fiberline universe. The factory itself, the parking places, the loading and unloading landings, the warehouse – everything is placed in the design itself. It’s all one form that contains everything and holds everything. There are no external parking lots with cars anywhere... so it is like a spaceship. You drive in, and everything’s in it. The whole building is a continuation of the landscape, and the high back of the building completely follows the landscape.
So the building is like three large cuts, and in here are the production facilities which are like a spinning mill. Since Fiberline makes composites – which are artificial materials made from combining raw materials – their products are hanging from the ceilings like threads. And then around all this, there are people sitting and working on the third level overlooking the production facilities. So it’s all one big open room with the offices, labs, administration, and everything else overlooking the production facilities. Everyone can see everything, but no one is bothered by any noise.”
With a total of 20,000 square metres, Fiberline is Denmark’s largest workspace. “It’s a question of creating ‘identities’,” says Søndergaard who started his career working for B&O. “I believe that when we are working with putting rooms together, there arises a joint understanding of one’s identity as a company. The building influences the way people feel about their workplace.” Fiberline’s open workspace is 100 metres wide by 200 metres long – and the whole building is 300 metres long.
“Visually, it’s as if the meeting rooms are hanging outside the building, but they are a part of the building,” says Søndergaard. “And the stairways are all open – so when you go upstairs, it’s as if you are swinging in the air. The people down on the production floor really enjoy having people upstairs and around them, because all they see are silhouettes working above and around them.”
According to Søndergaard, acoustics weren’t the biggest problem in creating such a large workspace, but fire safety regulations were because you simply aren’t allowed to make such big rooms without guaranteeing them. “So at Fiberline, we had to make some divisions, and we also have sprinklers in the big windows to meet fire regulations. And these windows also help the soundproofing in the big production room. But in the long galleries where people are sitting upstairs, we had to find the right balance when it comes to sound. You don’t want to make a room that is completely ‘dead’ in terms of sound because then it’s not inspiring to work in. People are inspired by each other, so the indoor climate is important – and this is where we used Rockfon ceilings.
The people who are actually sitting in this space are really satisfied with the result because the space has exactly the amount of reverberation they wanted. But the ceilings really get to work hard in this building – and they are up to the challenge. And the result is a space that’s very comfortable to sit in and which provides the inspiration that comes from sitting with other people.”
Originally Søndergaard was against lowered ceilings, and in his previous works such as the much acclaimed Pihl headquarters in Copenhagen, everything was visible, even the sprinkler systems. And in the big workspace at Fiberline, it’s the same. But Søndergaard used Rockfon Sonar ceilings in the offices because he wanted a completely-controlled look in the office space. “And it really is a beautiful look. We put lights, electrical installations and the tracks all into the Rockfon Sonar system, and the result is really beautiful. It’s a very good solution to use Rockfon system ceilings because it gives a freedom in terms of managing the technical installation while creating ceilings that aesthetically are beautiful to look at. The ideal ceilings should appear as if they have a controlling effect. In other words, they should bring together everything we’re doing. You should be able to read from the ceiling that a building is clarified and well thought through. And that everything is integrated by means of the ceilings.
We also used Mono Acoustic in the meeting rooms, and here we decided to experiment – and use Rockfon’s Mono Acoustic on the walls because we wanted the rendered and plastered surface as a contrast to the rest of the surfaces.
We’ve been happy to use Rockfon system ceilings at Fiberline because they clearly support the whole idea that Fiberline’s products are composites made of different products. So we wanted to tell that story – and we’re very happy with the ceilings because everything is built into the ceilings (ventilation, lights etc.). And we’ve tried to break or penetrate the ceilings as little as possible. The only things you can actually see are the fire detectors (they were the only things we couldn’t hide). Everything else is hidden. We selected Rockfon ceilings mostly because of appearance, not so much because of fire safety, because we think it’s a beautiful product.”

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