Visitors to KU.BE, the new community centre in Copenhagen’s Frederiksberg district, could take the stairs, but the climbing walls, slides and rope ladders are a much more fun way to move around – and they are definitely not only for kids. A collaboration between Dutch studio MVRDV and Danish architects ADEPT, KU.BE incorporates a mix of disparate building types into one, from library to cooking school and gym to theatre, all with the aim of bringing out the inner child in even the most sensible of visitors to encourage an active lifestyle. “The idea was not just to make a culture house, but to create a whole new typology that hasn’t been seen before,” says Martin Krogh, co-founder of ADEPT.

Instead of traditional floorplans the building has six zones each designed for a very specific purpose, from cooking to sports to meditation. To get from one zone to another, visitors navigate the PlayZone. The irregular space, formed where the various zones meet, has been filled with all manner of unconventional elements that seem more suited to a playground than a community centre.

“It is a beautiful idea, and I hope it can operate in reality,” says van Rijs. “I want people to see it and think it’s cool and want to do something similar in their space.”

“The idea was not just to make a culture house, but to create a whole new typology that hasn’t been seen before,” says Martin Krogh, ADEPT.

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