Lyngby City Hall is the iconic town hall building in the heart of Lyngby, constructed between 1939 and 1941. The town hall is often referred to as the “Cathedral of Diplomacy.”
The building has a curved design, and naturally, the copper roof at the top follows this shape as well.
In fact, the copper roof has a fascinating history. To prevent the German occupying forces from stealing the copper during construction, it was painted black to resemble roofing felt.
Now, approximately 80 years later, the copper roof has been completely replaced—thankfully, without the need to paint it black this time.
Scope of the project:
In this renovation, the entire city hall underwent a comprehensive restoration, and we were involved at the very top: replacing the copper roof, skylights, ventilation caps, and masonry crowns.
The roof of the city hall has a “banana shape” along its length, meaning that the copper sheets are wider on the west-facing side than on the east-facing side due to the curvature.
This required extensive calculations before we could order materials, plan the work, and install the total of 102 copper sheets. Each sheet is unique and was calculated by one of our skilled copper roofers. They were laser-cut and numbered to ensure a perfect fit during installation.
Technical and Environmental Perspective:
The old wooden substrate was so well-preserved that we assessed it could last at least another 100 years beneath the new copper roof.
We always make this assessment after removing the existing copper roof. If the previous roof was properly sealed and no rain or snow has penetrated the wood underneath, we can easily reuse the material.
Of course, this depends on the quality of the original craftsmanship and ensuring there is sufficient ventilation between the boards.