Set between the industrial outskirts of Odense and the wetlands surrounding Glisholm Lake, Dymak’s new headquarters, designed by BIG | Bjarke Ingels Group, is conceived as both a workplace and a three-dimensional expression of the company’s material philosophy.
More than an office building, the 2,800-square-metre headquarters functions as a living catalogue of materials, bringing together workspaces, showrooms and shared facilities within a circular form centred around a sheltered green courtyard.
Certified DGNB Gold, Heart and Diamond, the project combines environmental performance, employee wellbeing and architectural quality. Positioned at one of the main gateways to Denmark’s third-largest city, the building mediates between an emerging industrial district and the surrounding landscape through a carefully calibrated relationship with light, vegetation and topography.
A roof that performs
The building is defined by its sculptural, undulating roofscape, which rises toward the northern forest to frame panoramic views while cascading southwards to provide shade, improve the indoor climate and mitigate noise from nearby infrastructure.
Its distinctive geometry is more than a formal gesture. The folded surface accommodates approximately 880 custom-shaped photovoltaic panels, optimising on-site energy production while giving the headquarters a silhouette that Bjarke Ingels likens to a Möbius strip—a continuous form in which geometry and performance become inseparable.
Constructed primarily from mass timber, clay tiles, clay mortar and eelgrass, the building demonstrates BIG's commitment to reducing embodied carbon through natural, low-impact materials. Warm and tactile, these elements define an architecture where sustainability is expressed through materiality rather than technology alone.
A landscape at its centre
Rather than placing nature around the building, BIG brings it into its heart.
The headquarters is organised around a circular courtyard conceived as a green amphitheatre, where broad stepped seating, native trees, flowering perennials, grasses and herbs create a shared outdoor room for informal meetings and everyday social life. Brick paving extends seamlessly from the interior into the landscape, reinforcing the continuity between architecture and garden.
The surrounding site has been carefully modelled to integrate roads, parking and native planting while opening long views toward Glisholm Lake. Rainwater is collected through open channels and landscaped basins, becoming a visible element of the project rather than hidden infrastructure.
A tactile workplace
Entering through a generous double-height lobby, visitors encounter a sequence of spaces that combine hospitality with production. The ground floor accommodates a showroom, photo studio and fitness facilities, while upper levels house open-plan offices, meeting rooms and informal lounges overlooking the courtyard.
Throughout the interiors, Dymak's own portfolio becomes the architecture itself. Timber, clay, cork and eelgrass define walls and finishes, while ceilings made from recycled paper fibres soften both acoustics and atmosphere. The headquarters becomes an immersive demonstration of the materials the company supplies, allowing employees and visitors alike to experience them at full architectural scale.
The timber-and-glass façade reinforces this approach. A rhythmic grid of vertical fins filters daylight and responds to orientation: denser on the south façade to reduce heat gain, more open toward the north to maximise views and natural light. The result is a carefully balanced indoor environment that changes subtly throughout the day.
Architecture as performance
For BIG, the Dymak headquarters demonstrates that environmental performance and architectural expression need not be separate ambitions. The circular plan creates a bright and socially connected workplace protected from surrounding infrastructure, while the sculptural roof, natural materials and integrated landscape contribute equally to the building's identity and environmental strategy.
Rather than showcasing products through display, the headquarters allows architecture itself to become the catalogue. Every surface, every junction and every material participates in a larger narrative about craftsmanship, circularity and the sensory qualities of the built environment.
At Dymak HQ, architecture does not simply house a company—it embodies its values. Framed by timber, shaped by light and centred on nature, the building transforms the everyday workplace into a living demonstration of material intelligence.
***
Photos ©Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST, Courtesy of BIG
26
comment