Today, the Danish Academy (built in 1967 by Danish architect Kay Fischer) is a typical example of Scandinavian modernism in Rome: renovation work will transform it into an example of ecological architecture, without taking away its appearance.
The main part of the work will begin next August and will last about seven months, but the design of each intervention in the structure has already begun. On March 2015, when the activities of the Academy will start again, the building will rely on a number of practical advantages, from saving electrical energy to temperature optimization.
The photovoltaic panels that will be placed on the roof will ensure, according to the calculations already made, more services (such as air conditioning) and significant savings in pollutant emissions. The project manager, Bente Lange, is an architect.
The professionals who will carry out the work with Lange are: Flemming Schröder, an engineer specialized in the reduction of energy consumption through the provision of internal and external structures and through the use of materials; Marianne Tuxen, an expert in the art of architecture that deals with interior lighting and with the ability to improve it through the arrangement of the various parts of the building; and Jane Schul, architect and expert in functionality of the vegetation for the purpose of energy saving resulting from the use of light and temperature.
The renovation work is financially supported by two Danish foundations: AP Møllerfonden (which has already supported the Academy) and the Carlsbergfondet (who donated the building) and by the Ministry of Culture of Denmark.
Marianne Pade, director of the Academy of Denmark, is responsible for coordinating the project, while Pia Hansen takes care of the economic aspect. The Italian company Acta, formed by professionals in the field, takes care of the legal and organizational issues related to the several renovations needed, which will be carried out materially as a result of a call for tender that will probably take place by May, after obtaining permits already requested to the Municipality and to the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage.
In Denmark there is much debate about the livability of the buildings provided by natural methods of protection: also in the Danish Academy in Rome the planned work will touch every item of the building, in order to ensure a detailed optimization of energy, light, temperature and in order to avoid and to minimize emissions of pollutants and waste of water.
Therefore the examination of the improvement of existing facilities also relates to details, for example the replacement of some parts of the heating systems and the creation of a system of natural ventilation through small changes in some of the walls and the planting of various shrubs around the structure.
Today, the Danish Academy (built in 1967 by Danish architect Kay Fischer) is a typical example of Scandinavian modernism in Rome: renovation work will transform it into an example of ecological architecture, without taking away its appearance.
