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The Wooden Barn: Transformation of a Historic Barn in Sønderbro
Name
Laura Garcia Mas
Education degree
Kandidat
Fagfelt
Design
Institute
Architecture and Space
Program
Spatial Design - Architecture, Design and Interiors
Year
2025
The project reimagines a timber barn built in 1907 in Sønderbro, Amager, as a multifunctional workshop and exhibition space activated by Fabrikken for Kunst og Design and open to the local community. It seeks to preserve the barn’s historical character while introducing thoughtful, flexible interventions that adapt the space for contemporary use. Emphasising sensory experience through spatial design and tactile fixtures, the project aims to create an environment that feels welcoming. The barn becomes a place where making, showing, and gathering intersect, supporting both individual practice and shared experience.
The Site
The barn is ituated in the northern part of Sønderbro, in an area known as Sundholm, the barn is a weathered timber structure with a gabled tiled roof. The exterior features both horizontal and vertical dark brown-painted wooden planks, while roof windows run along its length, allowing limited natural light to filter in. One of the façades is defined by large double doors on one side, with a smaller door positioned at the front. Inside, the barn has a concrete floor. A first floor with a wooden surface and a corridor-like layout is accessible via two small doors, either at the front or back of the building.
The barn’s open, raw interior holds potential to be rethought and re-inhabited, offering an opportunity to engage with its spatial qualities and subtle details, while preserving its characteristics.
Spatial Interventions
The spatial activation and organisation of the barn in Sundholm are shaped through a partnership between the Municipality of Copenhagen and Fabrikken for Kunst og Design. The municipality retains ownership, maintains the site, and supports neighbourhood involvement.
Fabrikken–a professional workspace for artists and designers, and the barn’s immediate neighbour leads programming, artistic direction, and public engagement. Through exhibitions, workshops, and open events, Fabrikken activates the barn as a semi-public space where artists can share work, test ideas, and connect with the local community.
Perspective of the Barn and its Surroundings
Process
With limited early access to the barn, we used physical models early on to translate sketches into spatial form. These helped us explore light, scale, object placement, and atmosphere, revealing how the barn’s qualities could support future use.
We approached the barn as a dynamic context shaped by human presence. Through observation, material testing, and iterative making, physical models became key tools for shaping and grounding the design.
Façade Openings
The Barn as a Light Box
This shutter solution allows us to preserve the original rhythm and appearance of the barn by reusing the existing openings and adding an additional adjustable layer, rather than replacing them entirely. It supports our adaptive reuse approach by maintaining the building’s character while improving its spatial quality and functionality—particularly in terms of daylight control and interior atmosphere. The system is simple and adaptable, accommodating different lighting needs throughout the space.
Exhibition as Spatial Practice
The Barn acts like an exhibition machine or light box, where exhibitions evolve through use, interaction, and rearrangement, allowing different meanings to emerge through participation.
We used models to explore the structure and test the building’s possibilities. This approach blurs the line between exhibitor and viewer, space and content. Visitors can engage by moving lights or getting closer to details, making the barn a flexible framework for storytelling.
The space actively shapes the exhibition, with natural factors like changing daylight influencing the experience. Working with these variables, the barn offers a platform for exploration and narrative development.
Exhibition Objects
We explored a tension system typically used in industrial contexts, combining it with textile to create a flexible and adaptable exhibition surface. Once we confirmed textile as a strong choice, we developed a framing system to support it. This test aimed to explore how fabric could define space while maintaining a sense of openness.
Final Scenarios
Summer Festivals and Events
Window Café
Screenings and Talks
Exhibition
Screenings and Talks
Staircase on Ground Floor Connecting to First Floor
Production Space for Fabrikken with Open Days for the Neighbourhood
Exhibition Installation
The Royal Danish Academy supports the Sustainable Development Goals
Since 2017 the Royal Danish Academy has worked with the Sustainable Development Goals. This is reflected in our research, our teaching and in our students’ projects. This project relates to the following UN goal(-s)
