Laksegade is buzzing with activity. The hoarding has gone up around the construction site, and the build is now in full swing.
The hoarding was fully in place at the beginning of April, marking the official start of construction. A project that will carry the street's historic buildings and more than 400 years of history forward into a new chapter. Now the work begins to transform the 16 buildings in the project – a total of 50,200 square metres – into a new quarter in the city. A task Project Director Glenn Jaes has been looking forward to.
"We've prepared and looked forward to construction starting, and we're very pleased to be under way. For those of us who've worked in construction for many years, this is a truly unique opportunity."
"Laksegade Kvarteret is full of history and remarkable architecture, and this is a very special construction site we've established here, surrounded by the echoes of history in every corner of the project," says Glenn Jaes.
Interior strip-out and environmental remediation
The first phase of the project is what's known as the soft strip – the careful removal of interior surfaces and installations – and the team on site is already well into this stage.
"Right now we're in the middle of the soft strip, which can best be described as an interior strip-out. We're removing things like partition walls, suspended ceilings, floors, various fittings, and installations."
"The purpose is to prepare the buildings for the rebuild and transformation, while also protecting the many fine details that need to be carried forward into the new chapter," Glenn Jaes explains.
The work ahead
According to Glenn Jaes, the team is on schedule for the soft strip in the buildings at Bremerholm 33 and Laksegade 11. He estimates that the entire interior strip-out will be completed in late summer. The key milestones in the construction timeline for the coming period are as follows:
- Soft strip expected to be completed in late summer / autumn
- This will be followed by the heavy strip-out internally and the dismantling of the façades on the Bremerholm 33 building
- A main contractor is expected to be appointed during the summer, and will begin the rebuild over the course of the autumn and through to December
Traffic in the area
The construction site, as is well known, is located centrally in Copenhagen, and according to Glenn Jaes, it's unavoidable that a build of this scale leaves a mark on traffic.
"We're exploring every option to minimise disruption as best we can and are in ongoing dialogue with the City of Copenhagen about traffic conditions."
"Together with the city, we're taking stock of the situation – particularly on Bremerholm, which can be challenging at times – and doing what we can to be considerate," says Glenn Jaes.