A Logo for Climate Protection: Klimatorium in Lemvig by 3XN

Climate protection is something that can be endlessly debated about without anything ever being done. But it can also be understood as a challenge best resolved in a pragmatic and cooperative approach. In Lemvig on Jutland’s western coast, the Klimatorium is taking the latter path, with research institutions, businesses and communes joining together at the new-build by 3XN Architects to drive projects forward for climate protection and climate change adaptation. The spectrum of their work ranges from fostering the regional circular economy to storm surge defences and the development of innovative, water-soluble road asphalt.

Institutions like these need a striking logo and in the case of the Klimatorium, it is a wave. This is conspicuously displayed at the entrance front in the form of a wood-clad recess with integrated seating and extending almost the complete width of the southern side of the building. Its convex rear side, complete with its load-bearing ribs, is the predominant feature of the double-height entrance hall. At the same time it also recalls the boat-building tradition of the region.

Completed in late 2020, the two-storey building accommodates offices, conference and lecture rooms, a public café and an exhibition space. Deep floor plans, a multitude of areas with no clearly allocated function and the almost complete absence of partition walls are to foster encounter and interaction. The rooms behind the storey-high wooden slats on the second floor are surprisingly open and light-filled in impression.

The outdoor spaces by the SLA landscape architecture practice of Aarhus also fulfil various functions in one, ranging from a leisure area incorporating numerous installations for play activities and sports, such as a skateboard track and a parcourse, to a demonstration area for climate-compatible urban open space design and last but not least a flood defence installation that is to protect the district at the rear of the site from flooding. The whole area is planted with species that find ideal growth conditions in the saltwater meadows and dune landscapes of Denmark’s North Sea coast.