DTU

Step inside DTU's newest research building

Building 313 is unique. Half wood and half concrete, the building houses a world-class electron microscope, and is also where theorists and practitioners meet.

Building 313 has seven floors including the basement and thanks to the atrium and openings by the kitchenettes, you have a view of the floors above and below you. Photo: Jacob Christensen/MT Højgaard Danmark.

Thursday 24 April 2025

Linnea Lundberg

In 2019, the idea for Building 313 began to evolve in DTU's Campus Service. They wanted to build an extraordinary building that housed research facilities, encouraged interdisciplinary collaboration, and made going to work a pleasure.

Today, the vision has come to life, and DTU now has a building that brings theorists and practitioners together. And when it came time to build a new building, the people behind it tried to do it with minimal environmental impact.

“We have used the European sustainability certification system, DGNB, to document our efforts to reduce climate impact. During the design and construction, we aimed for DGNB Gold certification, which has required targeted project management to achieve our ambitions to minimize our impact on the climate,” says Esper Christophersen, Section Manager at DTU's Campus Service.

He continues:

“Through design choices and layout, the building encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, which may sound a bit vague, but it's not. For example, we have only placed coffee machines on every second floor. This way, researchers get to meet colleagues from other disciplines at the coffee machine, and at the same time, space has been created to move spontaneous conversations off to the side to continue the interdisciplinary dialogue,” he explains.

The building has seven floors including the basement and thanks to the atrium and openings by the kitchenettes, you have a view of the floors above and below you. This creates a better sense of space and provides a good overview. And that's important when e.g., you're looking for a good place for a coffee meeting or searching for a specific colleague.

The building is designed by Christensen & Co Arkitekter, who focused on sustainable construction in the design process (choice of materials and universal design). Photo: Jacob Christensen/MT Højgaard Danmark.

In the common areas, contemporary art and research dissemination will lead to new insights and ideas. Photo: Jacob Christensen/MT Højgaard Danmark.

Building 313 is also known as the Climate Challenge Laboratory where microbiologists, electrochemists and robotics researchers meet. Photo: Jacob Christensen/MT Højgaard Danmark.

In 2019, the idea for Building 313 began to evolve in DTU's Campus Service. Photo: Jacob Christensen/MT Højgaard Danmark

Today, the vision has come to life, and DTU now has a building that brings theorists and practitioners together. Photo: Jacob Christensen/MT Højgaard Danmark

Outside the building, one can see the green facade panels, consisting of huge planter boxes. Photo: Jacob Christensen/MT Højgaard Danmark

Building 313 - this time seen from above. Photo: Jacob Christensen/MT Højgaard Danmark

There are also many places to enjoy one's lunch in Building 313. Photo: Jacob Christensen/MT Højgaard Danmark

The entire office part of the building is pure wood construction including an open wooden staircase. Photo: Jacob Christensen/MT Højgaard Danmark

Facts

About buildings and construction at DTU

DTU follows the voluntary certification scheme for sustainable construction, DGNB. Within the DGNB system, a building or urban area is evaluated based on six qualities: environmental, economic, social, technical, process, and area, while the operation of a building is assessed based on three qualities: environmental, economic, and social. Rådet for Bæredygtigt Byggeri oversees the certification process in Denmark.

DGNB certification is not the goal of DTU's efforts towards greater sustainability in existing and future buildings but rather a method to establish systematicity and transparency. In the case of particularly complex, research-intensive buildings, it may be necessary to deviate from the DGNB criteria. Such deviations are always coordinated and verified by Rådet for Bæredygtigt Byggeri.

World-class research facilities

Building 313, which is also known as the Climate Challenge Laboratory, is the centre of research into solutions to the world's climate challenges. This is where microbiologists, electrochemists and robotics researchers meet.

“The building was designed based on the principle of generic laboratories and initially without any specific end users in mind. Once the various users had been identified, the laboratories were adapted to suit the researchers' many different experiments,” explains Project Manager Maja Høgsbro and continues:

“We have also moved away from open-plan offices to group offices to create more space for quiet and immersion. Smaller ad-hoc rooms have been created for online meetings, telephone conversations, and shorter meetings. Many universal design initiatives have been implemented, including quiet rooms with lower, softer furnishings. With these measures, we have tried to design and organize the building to meet as many different needs as possible.”

In the basement, space has been created for a very complex microscope, which is encased in concrete to ensure it is completely stable, while the entire office part of the building is pure wood construction including an open wooden staircase. This is unprecedented at DTU and gives the building a softer, lighter and more organic feel.

You can also find green areas in Building 313 in the form of both artwork and green facade panels, which are basically huge planter boxes, while on the east side of the building you can look out onto a large biodiversity courtyard, i.e. a courtyard area designed to promote biodiversity on Lyngby Campus.

Building 313 is also open to everyone at DTU thanks to meeting rooms on the ground floor that can be booked for larger meetings and smaller conferences.

Facts

About Building 313

Seven floors including the basement
A world-class electron microscope is located in the basement.
The meeting rooms on the ground floor can be booked for larger meetings and smaller conferences.
In addition to 3 departments (DTU Energy, DTU Physics and DTU Nanolab), the building houses various centres and research groups, including the national unit E-MAT, the Catalysis Theory Center (CatTheory), the Center for Visualizing Catalytic Processes (VISION) and the Pioneer Center for Accelerating P2X Materials Discovery (CAPeX).
In the common areas, contemporary art and research dissemination will lead to new insights and ideas.
The building is designed by Christensen & Co Arkitekter, who focused on sustainable construction in the design process (choice of materials and universal design).

Contact

Esper Christophersen Head of Section Campus Service esch@dtu.dk

Maja Frederikke Høgsbro Project Manager Campus Service majah@dtu.dk