Danish champions in renovation

There were jubilation scenes in the inner library garden at the Royal Danish Library in Aarhus, when the winner of this year's RENOVER award was announced. Here, employees and partners were surprised by the chairman of the prize committee, who was able to present the fine prize.

'The collaboration process has been praised to the skies, and the craftsmanship is of high quality,' said Gøsta Knudsen, chairman of the nomination committee and former city architect in Aarhus.

At the Royal Danish Library in Aarhus, we have been in the process of a major renovation, which i.a. has put trees in to the centre of the library space - mirroring the surrounding University Park - created more reading room space, opened up for the use of our facilities in new ways - all of which has contributed to even more guests using the library.

See the RENOVER award presentation of the nomination

In fierce competition with five other projects, the Royal Danish Library won, and it was noted by the commitee that the project is 'a unique oasis' that creates 'a beautiful connection to the rest of the campus and Aarhus University'.

This is the eighth time that Realdania and GI - the Landowners' Investment Fund - have awarded the Renovation Prize to a renovation project. The intention is to inspire future renovation projects and focus on renovation in Denmark.

The nomination (in Danish) included:

'The library has undergone a radical transformation that has created space for contemplation and space for inspiration'.

A total of 162 projects had been nominated for this year's prize. In addition to the honour of winning the award, the recipient receives 100,000 DKK.