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STORY
Factory Sharpened Up
Copenhagen, Denmark
A former pencil factory in the Copenhagen harbourfront neighbourhood of Islands Brygge has been sharpened up by Vipp owner, Jette Egelund. With 340m2 spread across two floors there is room for big interior dreams. And they expand to infinity on the rooftop terrace established by the owners on the building’s originally flat roof.
Home-made Kitchen
A black Vipp V1 kitchen – the first Vipp kitchen design – is composed by an island module and tall cabinets. The black steel kitchen stands in heavy contrast to the wooden floors from Dinesen and the light oak table and chairs also from Vipp. “It’s a pleasure to live with products from your own company. I find it a privilege to test-drive our own products”, says Jette Egelund.
Meet the Family
Jette Egelund inherited a waste bin from her father. She never asked him why he named it Vipp. After taking over her father’s company in the early nineties, Jette and her two children have managed to transform the bin into a brand. Jette shares the home with Mogens Dahl, conductor and musical entrepreneur who runs Mogens Dahl Concert Hall. “Design, art and music have always been of great interest to me, and I’d like our home to represent that passion,” explains Jette.
Sound of Home
The grand Steinway seems rather small in the large apartment space. “Living with a conductor, the grand piano has a central place in the apartment. Mogens use the piano daily for concert practice and pure enjoyment. I try to teach my grandchildren a thing or two”, says Jette Egelund.
Raising the Roof
Arcgency, a Danish Architecture practice withstood the renovation of the apartment in the 1930s Bauhaus-inspired factory building. Adding a first floor and terrace structure to the existing flat roof was the key brief given to architect Mads Møller who led the transformation. Central in the architectural solutions was a broad staircase in steel connecting the first and second floor. While serving a pure functional purpose, the staircase also lends a sculptural effect to the space.
Room Dividers
In contrast to most big city apartments shaped by many small rooms, this home boasts a grand open space combining living room, kitchen, and dining area enabled by the open span of the former factory layout. Creating natural zones proved the biggest challenge I the 3-year renovation. A solution to creating a designated office space while safeguarding the influx of light from all corners was the use of cast iron doors and freestanding walls.
Frame of a Factory
Once home to the iconic yellow Viking pencils, the modernised open space home holds several cues to its industrial history. The freight elevator, sliding iron doors, factory windows and floor to ceiling pillars keep the industrial vibe intact and counterbalance the updated and soft interior.
Tactile Dreams
The owners hired interior designer, Julie Cloos Mølsgaard to sharpen up the interior and find the right spot for a vast art and furniture collection. Modern design furniture, antiquities, art pieces, and family heirlooms enter a harmonious mix and convey a homey atmosphere.
Bathroom Bliss
The only shielded area in the open span apartment is the large bedroom and en-suite bathroom furnished with a Vipp bath module and matching mirror. Tactility is added with a Kusiner rug, a vase by Karl Monies and a lithograph by Eduardo Chillida.
Greenhouse Kitchen
A greenhouse kitchen displaying a smaller version of the Vipp V1 kitchen, gives access to the 320m2 roof terrace.
Roof with a view
From the grand roof terrace added to the building in 2016, Jette and Mogens have view to Copenhagen Canal where Jette every morning jumps into ‘Havnebadet’, a bathing establishment by Bjarke Ingels Group. Jette is a frequent visitor both during summer and winter. Also, in eyesight is the headquarters of Vipp, that Jette co-owns with two children. Yards Landscape has shaped the garden in a maze of raised beds of green bushes, trees, and flowers.
