The tiny Denmark town building Western Europe's tallest skyscraper
<p><span>When it comes to tall buildings in Europe, most people will generally think of towers in London, Frankfurt or Madrid. However, a plan has been announced to build one of the continent’s tallest skyscrapers in a small rural Denmark town instead.</span></p>
<p><span>Brande, a town of just 7,000 people on Denmark’s rural Jutland Peninsula, is set to house a 320-metre skyscraper that will serve as the headquarters for fast-fashion giant Bestseller. </span></p>
<p><span>Designed by architectural studio Dorte Mandrup, the Bestseller Tower will be the tallest building in western Europe, beating out London’s The Shard by about 10 metres.</span></p>
<p><span>“It will be a landmark that places Brande on the map, but it will also function as an architectural attraction benefitting hotel guests, students and other users of the building,” said Anders Holch Povlse, Bestseller’s owner and Denmark’s richest man.</span></p>
<p><span>Last month, the local council in Brande voted to move forward with the tower project. According to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/apr/01/like-the-eye-of-sauron-western-europes-tallest-building-planned-for-tiny-danish-town-brande-bestseller"><em>Guardian</em></a>, most locals have supported the initiative from the clothing company – which was founded in the small town – to build the soaring structure over the flat rural landscape. Upon completion, the high-rise will be visible from 60km away.</span></p>
<p><span>“There really is no opposition,” said Anders Udengaard, local politician and longstanding Bestseller critic. “But for most people looking at a project like this being built in a community as small as this is, it does seem rather insane, doesn’t it?”</span></p>
<p><span>If anything, resistance against the project seemed to come from the country’s urban residents. “Such a big building will make the world claustrophobically small,” said Trine Kammer of Aarhus, Denmark’s second most populous urban region. “Why do I have to be reminded of Bestseller when I’m walking by myself in a quiet wood?”</span></p>
<p><span>Danish satire website Rokokoposten has also likened the proposed building to the villainous Tower of Sauron from <em>Lord of the Rings</em>.</span></p>
<p><span><a href="https://www.designboom.com/architecture/bestseller-tower-brande-skyscraper-denmark-dorte-mandrup-04-04-2019/"><em>Designboom</em></a> reported that the construction project is set to break ground this year with completion expected to take place in 2023.</span></p>
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