Henning Larsen gets go-ahead for ring-shaped extensions to a Danish hospital
Work is set to begin on a trio of circular buildings designed by Henning Larsen Architects for a hospital in Denmark.
The Danish firm won a competition in 2011 to design the 56,000-square-metre extension of Herlev Hospital near Copenhagen. After four and a half years, contracts of one billion DKK (£100 million) have been awarded and construction will begin.
![Hospital Herlev by Henning Larsen](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/01/Hospital-Herlev_Henning-Larsen_Denmark_dezeen_936_4.jpg)
The trio of loop-shaped buildings have varying diameters and will provide the hospital with new emergency, maternity and paediatrics departments.
![Hospital Herlev by Henning Larsen](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/01/Hospital-Herlev_Henning-Larsen_Denmark_dezeen_936_3.jpg)
They will be raised just above the ground on rectangular plinths, contrasting an existing 120-metre-tall block that was built in the 1960s.
"The buildings' inter-staggering creates several inviting outdoor spaces in human scale and provides a contrast to the existing hospital's 120-metre-high rectangular geometry," said the studio.
![Hospital Herlev by Henning Larsen](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/01/Hospital-Herlev_Henning-Larsen_Denmark_dezeen_936_0.jpg)
"The building complex as a whole will go from being a very 'large house' situated on a plot without outdoor spaces to becoming a built-up area offering a variety of distinctive elements and eventful outdoor spaces."
Curving glass walls are intended to give patients views into gardens in the centre of the loops, while plant-covered screens will cover other areas of the facades.
![Hospital Herlev by Henning Larsen](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/01/Hospital-Herlev_Henning-Larsen_Denmark_dezeen_936_1.jpg)
"The recreational and healing effect of nature is well-documented," said the studio. "At Herlev Hospital, this knowledge is taken seriously – thus, luxuriant courtyards, green roof gardens and a large, central green heart provide the new hospital with an altogether vibrant and life-affirming atmosphere."
![Hospital Herlev by Henning Larsen](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/01/Hospital-Herlev_Henning-Larsen_Denmark_dezeen_936_2.jpg)
"The goal has been to create a healing hospital environment that combines all available knowledge into a symbiosis between hospital and surroundings, which altogether create a hospital of senses," it added.
The Herlev Hospital project is expected to complete in 2017.
![Hospital Herlev by Henning Larsen](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2016/01/Hospital-Herlev_Henning-Larsen_Denmark_dezeen_936_8.jpg)
Henning Larsen Architects recently completed a new headquarters for Microsoft in the city of Lyngby and is also currently working on the design of a mosque and Islamic centre in Copenhagen.
Project credits:
Architecture: Henning Larsen Architects
Collaborators: Friis & Moltke Architects, Brunsgaard & Laursen Arkitekter, Orbicon, Norconsult and NNE Pharmaplan
Landscaping: SLA