The House of Grain in rural Jutland

With its warm, delicate hues, the Kornets Hus, or House of Grain, stands out amongst the golden wheat fields in the Danish municipality of Hjørring, in northern Jutland, in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape.

Designed by Norwegian architecture firm Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter (RRA), this new learning centre combines tradition and modernity and is inspired by the region’s rich landscape, folk culture and agricultural heritage. Modelled on the shapes of traditional baker’s ovens, it provides locals, visitors and students with a place for activity-based learning where they can share traditional breadmaking recipes and techniques and explore new ideas.

With its L-shaped plan surrounded by a garden courtyard, Kornets Hus is built alongside an existing farm and bakery. Its architectural form is the result of research into the region’s landscape and local building tradition. The teaching and exhibition spaces and workshops are positioned at either end of the building beneath two soaring lightwells reminiscent of traditional ovens, which allow natural light to flood into the classrooms.

The public spaces are organised around a large bread oven, while large floor-to-ceiling windows offer splendid views across a vast expanse of wheat fields, which can also be appreciated from the building’s terrace.

SK1N Terra from Fornace S.Anselmo takes centre stage in the project

Kornet Hus is entirely clad with U-shaped Pantheon Nordic Red (or SK1N Terra) façade tiles from Fornace S.Anselmo, a leading player in the international facing brick market. The warm, golden coloured tiles combine the timeless appeal of clay with contemporary ceramic techniques and colours and entirely cover the walls and the roof of the building. Pantheon Nordic Red offers plenty of scope for creativity in many different applications, as in this case where it creates a sense of seamless continuity between the facades and the distinctive lines of the roof.

SK1N Terra’s DNA is closely linked to iconic and timeless European craftsmanship. Combining the enduring beauty of terracotta with contemporary ceramic colours and the renowned quality of Fornace S.Anselmo products, SK1N is a uniquely versatile ventilated façade tile with clean, uniform lines suitable for any type of building envelope, from walls to double-pitched roofs. Designed to be installed on a weatherproofed structure, it is easy to assemble as each tile is simply screwed onto horizontal aluminium or timber battens. The horizontal joints overlap while the vertical joints are staggered for maximum visual effect. 

*credits

• Location: Hjørring, Denmark
• Architect: Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter AS - Oslo
• Products used: SK1N Terra / Pantheon Nordic Red by Fornace S.Anselmo
• Local distributor: Komproment Danish Building Design
• Completion date: December 2020