Queen Mary of Denmark opens up the royal couple’s Circular Annex house

Copenhagen: Just 40 minutes from Copenhagen, where the Danish royal family’s official residence Amalienborg is located, you’ll find Fredensborg. With its village-like atmosphere, tall trees and shimmering Esrum Lake, peace and tranquillity reign.

Here is the Baroque Fredensborg Palace, and the publicly accessible Palace Garden, renowned as an example of Baroque garden design. Nearby is Chancellery House, the residence of the current royal couple, H.M. King Frederik X and H.M. Queen Mary.

Behind Chancellery House, close to the forest, is an annex. Architecturally, it stands out from the white palace buildings as it is made of wood and has two distinct elements. One half has a rustic, blackened and primarily enclosed exterior, while the second is brown-oiled and transparent with glass walls that slide aside to merge outdoors and indoors. The enclosed part of the annex consists of private quarters, while the open part houses a more ‘official’ area comprising a common room with a kitchen and meeting facilities. The royal couple and Danish architect Anders Lendager have designed the building to reflect its owners as representatives of a modern monarchy, rooted in a historical foundation yet seamlessly integrated into the present.

Originally, the annex was an old workshop, constructed in 1890. It was no longer in use, so the royal couple had to decide its fate. The easiest solution would have been to tear it down and build something new. That was not the path they chose. To understand why, let’s look back to September 2021. Lendager, a visionary architect with sustainable, circular principles, was commissioned by VisitDenmark to create a pavilion for the annual design fair in Milan. The walls were constructed from more than 700 chairs, stacked in every conceivable way and made using plastic sourced from Carlsberg kegs.

It takes a mind as creative as Lendager’s to have such vision. That, and an analytical person like Danish master carpenter and contractor Kristian ‘Iver’ Chemnitz Iversen, who also thinks in circular terms and was on board when asked to bring the idea to life.

In the annex’s meeting area, a table called The Life of the Tree, which is made from leftover wood supplied by the royal family’s carpenters. “When the building was finished we were able to start furnishing it, and in this context, we have also thought about maximising sustainability,” Queen Mary explains.

The pavilion became a showcase of what could be achieved in future Danish construction. As the crowning moment, Queen Mary visited the pavilion and that evening she approached Lendager. The Queen vividly recalls her encounter with the architect. “During the official dinner, I seized the opportunity and asked—knowing full well that he primarily works with larger projects—if he would ever consider transforming an old workshop building. I shared my thoughts about incorporating and rethinking the use of the building and making it as sustainable as possible, both in its transformation and its operation. Fortunately, he saw potential in it, as the old two-storey building had a strong and beautiful structure and was built from good, solid materials. From there, it was crucial for the transformation to create a space for craftsmen, architects and construction managers, so that creative and innovative reuse and sustainable solutions could unfold.”

‘Free space’ became a key concept, and both the planners and executors of the project enjoyed almost complete creative freedom to fully immerse themselves in their work. Iversen won the bidding round as the contractor with a proposal focused on the lowest possible CO2 emissions per square metre, which included a circular construction site with a covered carpentry tent right next to the scaffolding.

The Circular Annex is located next to Chancellery House, so the royal couple was able to hold regular meetings on site. “My husband and I followed the project from start to finish, getting involved in what was possible. It’s fascinating to see how much can come from building with what already exists. Everyone approached the task with curiosity, always asking: ‘how can we make this as sustainable as possible?’” the Queen says.