Eastern Chapel, Western Cemetery
Eastern Chapel, Western Cemetery
Project
Eastern Chapel, Western Cemetery
Client
City of Copenhagen
Area
375 m2
Status
Ongoing
Architect
MIKKELSENARKITEKTER A/S
Engineer
VITA Engineers
Copenhagen gets a new theater in an old chapel building, the new facility will be a modern meeting place for theater where children, young people, the growth team and local theater companies can meet and unfold their activities and create theater and productions for the citizens.
Østre Kapel is a preservation-worthy building from 1913, located at Vestre Kirkegård in Copenhagen. Since 2016, Østre Kapel has been a temporary stage for Sydhavn Theater during the summer months. Copenhagen's Sydhavn is a changing neighborhood with few public meeting places and a lack of cultural facilities. As part of a general revitalization of the district, Østre Kapel will be transformed into a meeting place for performing arts and other cultural purposes.
Mikkelsen Arkitekter is the overall consultant on the transformation of the preservation-worthy chapel into a future cultural center with performing arts as the focal point and Sydhavn Teater as local host.
Østre Kapel will in the future house a wide range of artistic activities where visitors will be able to experience innovative theater performances, choreography, art, exhibitions, lectures or just have a cup of coffee in unique settings and unique surroundings
The ambition is for Østre Kapel to become an attractive stage where both professionals and amateurs in theater, dance, readings and performance can meet. The house will be user-driven with Syghavn Theatre as host, and associations will have access to the house in the form of children's and youth activities and in addition, self-organized people will be able to rent space.
Østre Kapel will function as a theater with an experimental profile, as a home and testing ground for emerging artists, and as a starting point for site-specific initiatives such as city walks, performances and installations that draw attention to the district's special qualities. An initiative that tries to reach an audience that doesn't seek out established venues.
The architectural character of the chapel is preserved and used as a starting point for the additions that the theater function requires. What is added must be clearly visible and of the same high quality as the existing building. The material value is enhanced when the building's heritage is reinterpreted and reborn in a new and relevant function. With a conscious material attitude and a circular approach.
Through careful interventions, the chapel and its flexibility for varied use and target groups are future-proofed. A small extension to the chapel hall will be established to support the building's cultural events, and a couple of dormers will be added to make the first floor usable. The square around the chapel will be redesigned with recreational areas that will also be part of the house's cultural activities. The connection between the chapel and the square will be ensured by establishing a new opening from the future foyer and café. In addition, the chapel will be carefully insulated to preserve the many existing and detailed qualities.
The rebuilding of the outdoor area takes into account that Vestre Cemetery is an active cemetery. The project shows how cemetery buildings and closed, green cemetery areas with few or no active graves can be opened up and transformed into recreational areas that are experienced as urban nature.
When Østre Kapel is transformed into Teaterkapellet, it will become an attractive meeting place for experimental cultural production and a home for young people interested in theater in the area. Østre Kapel represents a sustainable, different and authentic take on an innovative space for cultural production, where an abandoned functional building is transformed into a home for culture.
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