In 2007, Energinet.dk, the Danish distributor of electricity and natural gas, built a new head office at Erritsø near Fredericia, and asked Gottlieb Paludan Architects to design the control room.

Located on the top floor at the end of the building’s enormous atrium, the control room holds a visible and distinctive position, and yet it is removed from the hustle and bustle of the head office’s daily activities.

In the control room the Danish electricity grid is monitored and regulated around the clock, year-round. The room also has a system for controlling the natural-gas network, just in case Energinet.dk’s other control room, located elsewhere, should fail. Likewise, the other facility has a system for managing the electricity grid in the event of a breakdown at Erritsø. This dual coverage helps ensure security of supply for Danish consumers, which is one of Energinet.dk’s most important responsibilities.

The control room gives a comprehensive overview of the grid situation on the expansive screen array. Dimensioned at 12.6 x 2.1 m, the screens are easily visible from the operator consoles and from anywhere in the room’s central area. Shelves behind the consoles have ample room for the documentation necessary for emergency control procedures, as do the two documentation tables positioned near the centre of the room. Kitchen and rest facilities take up one end of the control room, while a variety of planning functions occupy the space at the other end.

The fundamental aim motivating each and every design decision has been to make Energinet.dk’s control room a place that conveys exactly what it is all about – control!

Photos: Gottlieb Paludan Architects