History

Construction of Herlev Hospital officially began on August 19, 1966. It was an ambitious project set to become a showcase for everything the welfare state had to offer: from the latest technological innovations to no-expenses-spared interior design. Even though Herlev Hospital was the first building project in Denmark to use computerized budget tracking, the construction was plagued by delays and serious budget overruns. It took almost ten years to complete the project, and when the hospital opened its doors in 1976, only 16 floors were initially in use. The last remaining floors first became operational in 2007. But the troubled history in no way diminishes the impressive work done by the architects Gehrdt Bornebusch, Max Brüel, and Jørgen Selchau as well as the artist Poul Gernes.

The Complex

Herlev Hospital spans a large area and it’s comprised of several buildings. The centerpiece of the complex is an in-patient block consisting of three towers: the in-patient tower, the tower for medical staff, and the elevator tower. The latter is 120 meters high, and it’s the highest structure of the complex. The in-patient tower has 25 floors that feature the same basic layout. There is a core area in the middle with staff rooms, storage facilities, examination rooms, etc. Twenty-four in-patient rooms are situated around the core area, and every room has windows with a view. This layout was designed to give the staff faster and easier access to patients. The in-patient block’s outer shell uses a combination of light-colored concrete, glass and bronze-colored aluminum. Although the latter two materials are used sparingly, they break the concrete monotony quite nicely.