Olafur Eliasson’s first building is a partially submerged, curvilinear spectacle in a Danish harbour

Photos have been revealed of the first building to be designed entirely by artist Olafur Eliasson and his architectural team. Fjordenhus (Fjord Hus) was commissioned to be the headquarters for Danish investment company Kirk Kapital and is located in the harbour of Vejle, Denmark, with plans to open on 9 June.

The building is made up of four intersecting cylinders forming a 28m-high curvilinear brick structure, rooted underwater, with a bridge linking it to the Harbour Island. Elliptical sections have been carved from the cylindrical volumes to create a series of irregular, arched windows stretching multiple stories, as well as the building’s double-height entrance. Inside, Eliasson and his team have created site-specific artworks and specially designed furniture and lighting for the space.

Eliasson says the design is the result of years of research into “perception, physical movement, light, nature and the experience of space” and describes the final outcome as “a building that is at once a total work of art and a fully functional architectural structure”.

“In the design team, we experimented from early on with how to create an organic building that would respond to the ebb and flow of the tides, to the shimmering surface of the water, changing at different times of the day and of the year.  The curving walls of the building transform our perception of it as we move through its spaces.”