The Swan
A circular building site
The Swan is built on the site of a former school in Gladsaxe, using materials sourced directly from the buildings it replaces. Rather than treating demolition as a separate phase, the project integratated dismantling, on-site storage, and construction into one continuous process. The result is a building shaped by what was already there, where materials are kept in circulation and form follows availability.
Location
Gladsaxe, Denmark
Area
1 436 m2
Typology
Kindergarten
Year
2019 – 2022
Status
Completed
Client
Gladsaxe Municipality
Services
Architectural advising
Sustainability consulting
Demolition tender
Photos by
Rasmus Hjortshøj
‘Upcycling gives the new institution invaluable gains because it gets its very own narrative right from the start. Parents who have attended Gladsaxe School themselves will for example be able to recognize the clock from the schoolyard in the orangery, and the dome from the school’s observatory which will be a playhouse on the playground.’
Jan Rasmussen
Team Manager, Gladsaxe Municipality
The project operates as a circular building site, where materials from the existing school are carefully dismantled, sorted, and stored before being reintroduced into the new architecture. Bricks, roof tiles, timber roof trusses, and steel façade elements remain on site throughout the process, turning the construction site into a temporary material depot. This approach reduces transport, preserves material value, and ensures that resources are reused directly rather than downcycled or discarded.
The architecture is defined by these material flows. Large timber trusses from the former sports hall structure the new spaces, while reused bricks and tiles form both interior and exterior surfaces. The materials are not concealed, but expressed, allowing traces of the former school to remain visible in the new building. Elements such as the original school clock further embed memory and continuity, creating a building with an inherent narrative rooted in its past.
‘We are incredibly proud to have the world’s first circular kindergarten. It will also be Gladsaxe’s third Nordic Swan Eco-labelled institution and once again put Gladsaxe on the climate world map’
Trine Græse
Mayor, Gladsaxe
The Swan demonstrates how circularity can be embedded as a process rather than applied as an add-on. Through early mapping, coordination across disciplines, and a design approach driven by available resources, the project redefines the relationship between demolition and construction. It presents a scalable model for how future buildings can be shaped by the materials they inherit.
