Modern Monastery

Johannes Torpe Studios seized upon this former dull, industrial building north of Copenhagen and transformed the space into “a modern monastery for the science of cycling.”

As well as serving a divine purpose, this is the retail showroom and Danish HQ of Argon 18. Integrated into the design is a store which includes a product gallery, a workshop, a bike-fitting area and training facilities. The project also features an office, meeting rooms, a cantina and an outdoor plaza for events.

The design concept was inspired by carbon fibre bicycles and the dynamic between human and machine. Concrete floors, six-metre-high ceilings and luminous panels complete the sci-fi laboratory aesthetic in the showroom. Notably, pantographs suspended from above display bicycle prototypes that can be lowered down for inspection. “The showroom is designed to elevate the bicycles and display their sovereignty,” explains Johannes Torpe Studios. Amen to that.

johannestorpe.com

Words: Georgia Thomas
Pictures: Alastair Philip Wiper

This article originally appeared in issue 24 of Treadlie Magazine.