Containing construction in the heart of Copenhagen

New Maersk Headquarters

Project: New Maersk Headquarters
Customer: Maersk

Contractor: Arpe & Kjeldsholm

After decades at its familiar building on the Copenhagen harbour, Maersk set to work on the construction of a new headquarters. Given the urban environment, some prominent neighbours and the promise of volatile Danish weather, strict requirements were placed on the new worksite. Providing a fully enclosed structure to protect the site from bad weather and keep noise and dust contained, Sitecover has helped ensure a smooth construction process that meets the demands of a confined urban space.

Project specifications:

• 5 x 8 modules (72.0x115.2 m)

• 3 pcs 12.5t crane. 28.5 m under the hook

• Wind brace and ground anchors for stability

• Adapted closures around existing building that are closed after demolition

• 2 x 2.5 module "extension" that was removed after 12 months of rental

• Assembled within 35 days 

The Danish shipping and logistics giant Maersk set to work developing a new, state-of-the art facility to serve as its global headquarters together with Arpe & Kjeldsholm as the management contractor. Situated at 44 Amaliegade in central Copenhagen, the new building would be located next door to the company’s current headquarters.

However, being just around the corner from Amalienborg Palace and surrounded by high-profile neighbours such as the Maritime and Commercial Court, the project was saddled with strict requirements to minimise disruption in the area. Moreover, before construction could begin, an existing building listed by the land registry had to be carefully dismantled and removed from the site. These demands called for a solution that could shield the area from the strains of construction, while also sheltering the worksite and its materials from adverse weather.

To meet these challenges, Sitecover delivered a structure to fully enclose the site – creating a contained and sheltered workspace for the entire building process. The solution featured three traverse cranes integrated into the roof of the structure to handle all internal lifting operations. This also eliminated the need for external tower or mobile cranes, which can be disruptive in the confined city centre and subject to weather delays. 

With Sitecover’s innovative roofing system, Maersk and Arpe & Kjeldsholm are successfully carrying out the project with minimal delay and minimal impact on one of Copenhagen’s most historic neighbourhoods. 

 We need to find a balance between nuisance to neighbours and CO2 balance, and in this regard we are working on the possibility of building under a gigantic "site cover". So far, this has only been done on a smaller school building in Nordvest, but we hope that it can be done, even though it is much larger at Toldbodgade, so that all neighbours – including ourselves and our employees – can see that it’s a cool process and as little disruption as possible 

 Caroline Pontoppidan, Maersk General Counsel and Head of Corporate Affairs