The 4th of May Dormitory, inaugurated in 1950 as a living memorial to the Danish resistance movement during the Second World War, was founded on strong communities and mutual tolerance. The renovation of the existing buildings revitalises the physical framework by extending the dormitory and reorganising and strengthening shared spaces.

Natural and recyclable materials

The extension to the residential wing includes new rooms for 60 alumni, along with bathrooms and kitchens. The extension is clad in screen bricks, offering a contemporary interpretation of the red brick used on the existing façades. The building’s surfaces are primarily composed of natural and recyclable materials, including timber, brick, natural stone and concrete. A glazed link has been created between the existing and new buildings, both separating and connecting the structures.

The lower part of the complex, containing the dining hall, kitchen, TV lounge and caretaker’s apartment, has been reorganised into a large representative arrival area and an open, accessible dining hall with a modern kitchen. In the eastern residential wing, a large combined lower-ground floor has been created, opening towards the shared garden. A new glazed façade on the lower-ground floor brings daylight into the communal spaces, including a TV lounge, study rooms, fitness area and sauna, while activating the transition between indoors and outdoors.