Archinect - News

Cobe, Dorte Mandrup, JAJA, and Tegnestuen Vandkunsten to lead new mixed-use housing development at Copenhagen's South Harbor

2024-04-12T13:41:00-04:00

Cobe is joining fellow Danish architecture firms Dorte Mandrup, Tegnestuen Vandkunsten, and JAJA, alongside Sweco engineers, to deliver a new mixed-use residential district in Copenhagen’s South Harbor. The one-million-square-foot design is set to include 1,000 new units of housing (25% of which are considered affordable) designed to help key the Danish building sector's vital green transition.

Each of the buildings will be constructed in line with the Reduction Roadmap initiative, an analog of the Paris Agreement, as well as the Planetary Boundary for Climate Change and a German DGNB platinum certification. Wood will be used as a primary building material throughout the structures, which are connected via canals, bridges, and new green areas.

Rendering courtesy Cobe

Cobe is also under tender to deliver the newly redesigned Danish parliament buildings and public entrance in Copenhagen and has nearby completed another mixed-use housing tract called Paper Island at its Inner Harbor, w...

Henning Larsen debuts Open Detail, a digital biomaterials resource for architects

2024-03-21T18:34:00-04:00

Henning Larsen has unveiled a new tool for designers that allows them access to a database of biogenic materials examples taken from around the world.

The firm debuted its new Open Detail resource at the AEC Hackathon in Copenhagen. Together with collaborators Copenhagen School of Design and Technology (KEA), Ramboll, Speckle, and Chevrant, the entry took home first place for the 'Best Mashup Project' at the Hackathon.

Now, their aim is to "foster a shift towards low-carbon architecture" by making such "tangible" biogenic design solutions more easily accessible to the public and practitioners as an open-source repository and knowledge-sharing platform.

The searchable Open Detail will allow users to contribute and download material details in either 2D or 3D format once actualized. Henning Larsen says this is "only the beginning" for Open Detail, adding that the project's off...

Cobe opens The Opera Park island in Copenhagen's inner harbor

2023-11-21T17:52:00-05:00

Cobe has completed work on a new outdoor concert space for Copenhagen they say will lend a rich cultural and green balance to the outcrop of new development in the city’s inner harbor area that has been reproduced in abundance over the past two decades.

The artificial island space is dubbed The Opera Park and was constructed on a 231,000-square-foot plot adjacent to the Royal Danish Opera House. It serves as its visual counterpoint and is accessed via a landscaped bridge connector covered by a glass walkway.

The Opera Park. Image: Francisco Tirado

Cobe’s Founder, Dan Stubbergaard, says: “The Opera Park is a place where nature comes first amidst Copenhagen’s bustling urban development. With its six gardens, winding paths, and carefully crafted viewpoints, the project seizes elements of Copenhagen’s historical, romantic gardens to tackle today’s challenges such as decline in biodiversity and water management. As you stroll through the park, you get the feeling of having left the city ...

3XN shares new Copenhagen Children's Hospital images ahead of 2026 opening

2023-08-16T13:57:00-04:00

3XN has shared photos of their nearly complete Copenhagen Children’s Hospital project in the Danish capital.

Spanning 58,000 square meters (about 624,300 square feet), the design will yield a total of 219 beds for children, teens, and pregnant women, 15 operating rooms, 57 ambulatory care suites for children and adolescents, another 30 for adults, 14 delivery rooms, and a nuclear diagnostics center.

Once it opens early next year, the hospital will have a capacity for 900 persons in addition to 1,200 staff. The firm says its design is meant to harness the power of play as a palliative measure and will be completed at a cost of $350 million for its client, the Capital Region of Denmark.

Image: 3XN

Formed by two asterisk-shaped volumes meant to evoke the image of a pair of widespread hands connected together at the wrist plate, the bays inside the individual "fingers" in the design are bookended by winter gardens at the tips and share a central core reserved for family lounge...

Upcycled skyscraper earns 3XN a spot on Fast Company's 'world’s most innovative companies' list

2023-03-03T10:55:00-05:00

Copenhagen-based 3XN has been included in Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies 2023 list. The 50-company-strong list is described by Fast Company as the “definitive chronicle of the novel ideas transforming business and society,” ranging from ChatGPT creator OpenAI to the art collective Mschf.

Sitting at number 32 on the list, 3XN was included “for upcycling an aging skyscraper into a modern office building,” referencing their recently completed Quay Quarter Tower in Sydney, Australia. The 46-story tower has set a high-profile precedent for adaptive reuse and upcycling in tall buildings, with 65% of the original 1976 structure retained including 95% of its core.

Image credit: Phil Noller

“[Quay Quarter Tower] proves that even something as massive as an outdated office tower can be upcycled into something beautiful and relevant,” Fast Company said. “As a growing number of towers age in cities around the world 3XN’s innovative design presents a vision for how to implement a replica...

Denmark is moving forward with a controversial man-made storm barrier in Copenhagen

2023-01-13T14:54:00-05:00

In January 2022, a team of developers, architects and environmental consultants began work on a 50-year project that — if completed — will become one of Denmark's most ambitious and controversial infrastructure schemes to date: A 271-acre man-made peninsula devised to shield its capital, Copenhagen, from rising sea levels. But the multi-million dollar environmental project has drawn vocal criticism — primarily, and somewhat ironically, from those concerned about the climate.

Despite its intent, Copenhageners have lodged multiple unsuccessful attempts at halting Lynetteholm’s construction in the European Parliament and national assembly. The design calls for a linear wall shielding 35,000 new homes that can be bolstered as necessary in what is called a “process landscape.” Environmentalist opponents have answered back with claims of “maladaptation.” It will eventually join a currently under-development modular floating habitation from the Danish studio MAST that will take shape in segments over the coming decade.

Henning Larsen unveils its new design for a 'modern monument' in Copenhagen

2022-10-07T12:34:00-04:00

Henning Larsen has announced their recent commission to design a new church in Copenhagen — the Danish capital’s first in over 30 years.

Set amongst a clearing of trees in a forested area, the Ørestad Church is designed to be a communal gathering nexus that "offers solace" to parishioners and is "untouched by the bustle of the city," according to Global Design Director Jacob Kurek.

Rendering by VividVision. Courtesy of Henning Larsen.

Made of wood and wood shingle, the 18,837-square-foot (1,750-square-meter) church is said to reflect the open landscape and expressive architecture found in Ørestad.

A linear arrangement of clustered volumes aims to reference the treeline of a forest when approached from the adjacent Amager Fælled, a nature reserve in Copenhagen.

Image courtesy Henning Larsen.

Rendering by VividVision. Courtesy of Henning Larsen.

The design's inverted facade creates an "urban shelf" activated by seating niches, gaming areas, and a book exchange that was included as the...

BIG's CopenHill waste-to-energy ski slope named World Building of the Year 2021

2021-12-03T18:52:00-05:00

It doesn't happen every day that a large piece of urban infrastructure is crowned the globe's best new building design, but at today's closing ceremony of the annual World Architecture Festival, one industrial facility reigned supreme over a shortlist of 200 noteworthy new buildings: CopenHill, the illustrious waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen also known as Amager Bakke, has been declared the World Building of the Year 2021.

Representing the Production, Energy & Recycling category, the Bjarke Ingels Group-designed project vastly expands the definition (and expectation) of an energy-sector facility, featuring a ski slope, hiking trail, and green terrains on its roof, sporting the world's tallest artificial climbing wall on its vertical facade as well as hosting a rooftop bar, cross-fit area, and a viewing plateau of the city.

Photo: Rasmus Hjortshoj/Courtesy of WAF.

WAF Program Director Paul Finch praised the way CopenHill "addresses the role of architecture in the new world of recy...

Henning Larsen unveils its second mass timber project for Copenhagen

2021-11-29T12:04:00-05:00

As part of the firm’s continued experimentation with the increasingly popular building method in its hometown, Henning Larsen and Ramboll have unveiled a new design for what will eventually become Copenhagen’s largest mass timber structure.

The new Marmormolen area development scheme follows up on a previous design for a 7,000-person neighborhood called Fælledby that was announced last year.

Image courtesy Henning Larsen © Sora

A closer look at the new plan reveals a staggered-volume building surrounded by similar greenery and connected by a series of green rooftops that express the communion with nature seen in the previous development.

Each volume delineates the use of that particular part of the structure. The eight-story volume is home to the Danish AP pension fund, while the remaining three-story portions offer retail amenities as well as housing for residents overlooking the waterfront in Nordhavn.

Image courtesy Henning Larsen © Sora

The new building presents an exciting expan...

'Of course we're not closing!': CopenHill ski slope operator pushes back against potential closure

2021-08-25T20:37:00-04:00

Following recent reports in the local Danish press that the famed CopenHill ski slope atop Copenhagen's Amager Bakke waste-to-energy plant could face temporary, or possibly permanent, closure due to unexpected wear and tear of its skiing surface, the operator of the BIG-designed attraction has now publicly denied the need to close.

CopenHill published a statement titled Facts about the ski surface on Amager Bakke: Of course we're not closing! on its website in which it acknowledges the faster than expected deterioration of the slope's surface fibers but assures that the damaged parts would be replaced soon without the need to close the slope.

"Yes, we experience that the steep part of the ski slope's surface wears faster than expected, and therefore, parts of the surface must be replaced," the statement reads. "When the ski base needs to be replaced, it is done in smaller areas at a time. It will therefore not go beyond opening hours, and you will continue to be able to ski in the ...

BIG's CopenHill ski slope may be closing after unexpected wear and tear incites insurance dispute

2021-08-24T12:00:00-04:00

Bad news for architectural tourists as local Danish publications are reporting that the ski slope atop the famous Bjarke Ingels-designed CopenHill waste-to-energy plant may have to be dismantled and repaired thanks to unseen wear and tear that could potentially close the popular urban destination until 2024.

The Copenhagen Post is reporting that an expected 9.5 million Kroner ($1.5 million) overhaul may loom for the feature pending the resolution of a dispute between the Amager Bakke Foundation and the Danish insurance company Tryg.

Located on the city’s Amager island, the multipurpose slope was central to the design of the nearly $670 million conversion plant which opened in March of 2017.

The slope itself opened two and half years later and is now facing a total reinstallation after a Foundation statement in June cited safety concerns that were the result of continued deterioration.

Previously on Archinect: BIG's waste-to-energy ski slope, Amager Bakke, is now open

Because Tryg ha...

UNESCO-UIA names Copenhagen the new World Capital of Architecture for 2023

2021-07-27T13:55:00-04:00

The city of Copenhagen has been officially designated as World Capital of Architecture for 2023 by the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, on the recommendation of the General Assembly of the International Union of Architects (UIA). This decision is in keeping with the partnership agreement established between UNESCO and the UIA in 2018, through which UNESCO designates the host cities of UIA’s World Congress as World Capitals of Architecture.

Copenhagen follows Rio de Janeiro, who was the inaugural holder of the title. The Danish capital will host a series of major events and programs on the theme “Sustainable Futures — Leave No One Behind.” In cooperation with the Danish Association of Architects and various Nordic professional groups, the city will explore how architecture and urban planning can contribute to realizing the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Previously on Archinect: UNESCO names Rio de Janeiro as first World Capital of Architecture

After Copenhagen 2023, the next holder will be either Barcelona or Beijing, who are contending to claim the World Capital of Architecture title in 2026. The official decision will be made later this year.

“We are very happy to see the torch of the World Capital of Architecture title pass to Copenhagen from Rio de Janeiro,” said Azoulay. “The inaugural World Capital of Architecture in Rio was a real success, underlining the important role of urban planning, not...

ADEPT's Braunstein Taphouse is 'designed for disassembly'

2020-11-11T11:08:00-05:00

A new taphouse, designed by Copenhagen-based ADEPT, at the harbor of Danish city Koege, will welcome the more than 15,000 yearly visitors to the nearby micro-brewery Braunstein and offers activities for the local community.

The Braunstein Taphouse is "designed for disassembly" to make the recycling of building components possible if the structure would need to move to a different site in the future. According to ADEPT, the design allows for the building to be completely reassembled or for certain parts to be used as part of another project.

Mechanical joints were used throughout construction. Moreover, the designers chose to omit paint and grout on primary wall sources. The wooden floors are composed of the waste from a nearby flooring manufacturer. Click-joint polycarbonate members create the roof assembly.

"It was important to us to design the taphouse as a locally anchored building that supports the idea of a new local meeting place, said ADEPT in a statement. "The significant g...

Arup and COBE design two new metro stations in Copenhagen

2020-06-19T19:06:00-04:00

As a part of the Nordhavn metro line extension connecting Copenhagen's docklands to its city center, Arup and COBE have teamed up to design two new metro stations, Orientkaj and Nordhavn. A defining feature of this project is that one of the stations, Orentkaj station, is above-ground, and the other, Nordhavn station, is underground.

Orientkaj Station.

The above-ground station holds a brutalist inspiration, drawing from the historical aesthetics of the industrial docklands. The underground station takes its inspiration from the recently opened Cityringen metro line, in which Arup led the architectural design, and uses a distinctive red cladding present and other transfer stations.

Nordhavn Station.

"Nordhavn is a city of sustainable mobility, where it is easier to walk, bike or use public transport, than it is to drive your own car. The two metro stations unlock the potential of this new Copenhagen city district enabling more efficient and sustainable transport between the individual ...

Danish Architecture Center unveils new four-story slide by artist Carsten Höller

2020-06-15T14:48:00-04:00

With the reopening of Danish Architecture Center last week, Copenhagen welcomed a new art attraction: a 40-meter/130-foot-long tube slide spiraling down four stories inside DAC's boxy, OMA-designed BLOX home.

Photo: Kontraframe

Envisioned by German-Belgian artist Carsten Höller, famous for installing similar slides at art institutions around the world, the 15-meter/50-foot-tall DAC Slide is part of the Center's initiative to appeal to a broader audience and extend its range beyond the professional architecture community.

Photo: Kontraframe

"Why don’t we use slides in architecture as a supplement to stairs, elevators and escalators?" Carsten Höller commented on this latest piece. "They are fast, safe and energy-savvy — and they produce a sensation in the user that has been described as 'a kind of voluptuous panic upon an otherwise lucid mind, somewhere between delight and madness.'"

Photo: Kontraframe

Installing the enormous 4-ton slide took 21 days and required 13 slide sections, 94 pl...

ADEPT adds timeless brickwork facade to historic Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen

2020-05-22T12:49:00-04:00

The historic Carlsberg Brewery site in Copenhagen has opened to the public and has developed into a new urban neighborhood called the Carlsberg City. The preserved buildings were transformed by a number of European architects, creating a contemporary merging of the historical and the modern.

Copenhagen-based architecture firm ADEPT contributed the Theodora House, a mixed-use complex named after the daughter of Carlsberg'd founder, to the district. Part of the building complex is new construction and the other is an adaptive re-use of a former yeast storage space now occupied by offices.

The new portion of the complex is made up primarily of apartments with additional space for shops and cafes. The architectural brick facade connects the new and the old, tying the color and materiality of the new building to the existing surrounding structures with a novel and modern approach that is achieved by rotating some of the brick units that make up the facade.

World's tallest climbing wall heading to BIG's CopenHill

2020-05-20T11:56:00-04:00

Rising 85 meters high and 10 meters wide, the new climbing wall at the BIG-designed CopenHill is due to open this year and brings the residents of Copenhagen a climbing experience they'd never have otherwise. While designed as a traditional climbing wall, the routes get more difficult the higher one climbs. The experience is only open to "multi-pitch" certified climbers who have the proper experience and skill level to scale the wall safely.

Copenhagen selected as UNESCO World Capital of Architecture 2023

2020-05-11T14:31:00-04:00

Copenhagen will be named UNESCO World Capital of Architecture 2023, in addition to hosting the UIA World Congress of Architects in the same year. The title is a part of a joint initiative by UNESCO and Union of the International Architects (UIA), and is assigned to coincide with UIA’s World Congress, every three years.

According to CMW, Copenhagen won the bid to host the 2023 World Congress of Architects in 2017 after presenting a theme focusing on ‘Sustainable futures – Leave no one behind’.

The focus will be on the role of architecture in sustainable city planning and will seek to promote architecture as a crucial tool to achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The designation as World Capital of Architecture will allow these efforts to be developed further, CMW reports.

The Danish Architecture Center presents "Kids' City," a child-centric exhibition looking at Copenhagen's architecture

2020-01-29T16:32:00-05:00

The Danish Architecture Center will open its doors on February 7th to an exciting exhibition on innovation in child-centric architecture and construction called Kids' City. With Denmark ranked as one of the best countries to raise a child and Copenhagen as one of the best places to live in the world, the exhibition will spotlight the architecture of the city and explore the question of what a "good city" looks like.

Bike Snake, Copenhagen V, 2014 DISSING+WEITLING

Of the exhibition, Dorthe Weinkouff Barsøe, COO and VP of the Danish Architecture Center, said:

“Kids’ City is in line with our ambition to open the world of architecture to an even broader audience. It is a multi-faceted and active exhibition for the entire family, where we strive to make communication about architecture more accessible. We present new views of livability and the framework for the good city life, interpreted in a way that makes sense to the local residents, including children, as well as to the increasing n...

Mayors of three Nordic capitals declare their commitment to cleaner construction site practices

2019-10-23T02:00:00-04:00

The push for cleaner construction methods to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution on building sites has increased in recent years due to the worsening climate crisis. Nations across the globe have expressed their intent in finding better solutions for addressing the negative impacts the architecture and construction industries have on the environment.

Earlier this month, the mayors of Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm made a public pledge to enact various policies and regulations to ensure the following issues are addressed. According to a press release from C40 Cities, the mayors promise to:

Purchase biofuels and emission-free machinery for the city’s own use
Demand fossil-and emission-free solutions in public procurement and city supported projects
In Oslo, all city-owned machinery and municipally-owned construction sites will operate with zero emissions by 2025

Executive director of C40 Cities, Mark Watts, shares in a statement, "The world’s cities are growing fast, wi...

BIG's waste-to-energy ski slope, Amager Bakke, is now open

2019-10-04T16:05:00-04:00

The BIG day has arrived for the Danish firm's long-awaited, waste-to-energy ski slope Amager Bakke, which was inaugurated and fully opened to the public today. At 41,000m2, the year-round ski plant — also dubbed “CopenHill” — was the winning proposal of a 2011 competition that was designed by BIG in collaboration with SLA, AKT, Lüchinger+Meyer, MOE, and Rambøll. After a major setback in 2011, the project broke ground in 2013, and was partially open to visitors over the last two years.

The 100-meter-tall ski plant aligns with Copenhagen's mission of becoming the world's first carbon-neutral city by 2025. Designed for the Amager Resource Center (ARC), the project is located on the industrial waterfront of Amager, which has become a site for extreme sports.

Photo: Dragoer Luftfoto.

Photo: Aldo Amoretti.

CopenHill's new facilities integrate the latest waste treatment and energy production technologies, while also inviting thrill-seekers and recreational sports enthusiasts. Skiers have acc...

Pavilion made from repurposed IKEA mattresses wins CHART's first prize

2019-09-04T14:10:00-04:00

This year's first prize for the CHART Art Fair, a 72-hour competition inviting young designers working in the Nordic region to explore the crossovers between art, design, and architecture by creating temporary pavilions, went to Sultan, a project that utilizes discarded IKEA mattresses as its base materials. Everything from the wood, internal components, foam, metal, and fabric is used to construct the innovative pavilion.

"The SULTAN project was a clear winner both because it is conceptually very strong and because its fabrication is very precise," said David Zahle from BIG, the chairperson of the competition jury. "Sultan raises a very important concern about how hard it is to recycle things in a modern society, because of the complexity of the society we’ve come to live in," he continued.

Sultan pavilion. Photo: Joakim Züger

The project was developed by Anne Bea Høgh Mikkelsen, Katrine Kretzschmar Nielsen, Klara Lyshøj, and Josefine Østergaard Kallehave. An international jury was ...

BIG to design hotel tower in the center of a Danish amusement park

2019-06-21T15:12:00-04:00

Copenhagen is the rare city that can have an amusement park at its center, complete with anatopic pagodas, paper mâché mountains and wooden rollercoasters, and still be known as a world class destination for tasteful architecture and design. Tivoli Gardens has seen the city modernize around it since it first opened in 1843, and it is soon about to see a modernization of its own.

Rendering of H.C. Anderson Hotel at night.

Bjarke Ingels, the Danish architect that studied at Copenhagen's Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (KADK) and has since built projects around the globe, revealed this week that his firm will design his second building in Copenhagen in the center of Tivoli Gardens (the first being his waste-to-energy plant). The 18-story H.C. Anderson Hotel is in many ways a playful nod to the unique conditions of the amusement park in the city center.

As Ingels stated, the design "attempted to capture and accentuate the character of the existing castle, creating a new typology inspi...

BIG tests out ski slopes for their waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen

2019-01-10T15:55:00-05:00

Bjarke Ingels' transformation of a 100-meter-tall incinerator into a social and cultural hub in the heart of Copenhagen is set to open this coming spring. An example of what the Danish architect refers to as 'hedonistic sustainability', the waste-to-energy plant will not only be the cleanest in the world, but is also without equal for doubling as a public park, complete with hiking trails, a climbing wall, and a 600-meter-long ski slope.

Nearing completion, the Amager Resource Center—opening in seven weeks and billed as one of the most exciting openings of 2019—has begun testing its distinctive recreational option. This week, for the first time, public visitors have been allowed the chance to give the artificial ski slope a try. Capitalizing on the remaining winter holiday, a section of the slopes will be open a few days a week before an official, large-scale public opening in spring.

The slope has been designed in three sections, each graded by steepness and each offering differe...

Snøhetta's custom-made cutlery set is now available for you to buy

2018-11-15T15:44:00-05:00

Known for their innovative designs and mesmerizing buildings, Snøhetta has created custom-made cutlery for restaurant Barr in Copenhagen. Collaborating with design brand Table Noir, Snøhetta designed the pieces based on the holistic design experience that compliments the restaurant. Having already designed restaurant Barr's interiors as well as creating the visual identity for the Noma Restaurant Group, Snøhetta's vision was to highlight the restaurant's conceptual expression.

Located in North Atlantic House, Barr focuses on food and drink that are traditional to the region along the North Sea. Its name, meaning "barley" in old Norse, reflects executive chef Thorsten Schmidt's passion for regional food and drink through its history and culture.

Emphasizing on its tactile feel and physical experience while dining, "the cutlery is not merely defined by aesthetics or functionality; it actually enhances the enjoyment of the food and thus elevates th...

BIG completes "checkered" Dortheavej affordable housing complex in Copenhagen

2018-10-08T20:04:00-04:00

Non-profit affordable housing association Lejerbo commissioned BIG to design the much-needed Dortheavej affordable housing complex back in 2013. Some five years later, BIG has revealed photos of the finished product.

Photo: Rasmus Hjortshoj.

Located in historically industrial Dortheavej in northwestern Copenhagen, the 5-story complex offers 66 new apartments to low-income citizens. Built on a $9.8 million budget, the 6,800 m2 complex features a distinct checkered pattern that is based on a singular prefab structure. Apartment units range from 60 to 115 m2 and have 3.5-meter-tall ceilings, generous floor-to-ceiling windows that allow natural light to flood in, and outdoor terraces.

Photo: Rasmus Hjortshoj.

The building's north-facing facade looks towards an enclosed green courtyard, which residents of the complex and neighboring buildings can use for recreation. On the sunnier south side, balconies retract and the...

BIG designs Noma restaurant's new “garden village” home in Copenhagen

2018-09-20T19:55:00-04:00

What was once a military warehouse that stored mines for the Royal Danish Navy is now the new BIG-designed home of the famous Noma restaurant in Copenhagen. Located between two lakes in the city's Christiania community, Noma 2.0 was envisioned as an “intimate culinary garden village,” BIG describes.

Photo: Rasmus Hjortshoj.

At 1,290 m2, the project comprises seven small buildings with 11 connected spaces that are tailored — building materials and all — to their specific functions. The connected spaces are densely clustered around the service kitchen, putting the chefs at the center of it all. With this central position, the kitchen crew can have an overview of every corner of the restaurant.

Photo: Rasmus Hjortshoj.

The spaces are connected by glass-covered pathways, which allow natural light to flow in and keep chefs and diners connected with the natural environment outside. Guests can ...

Jan Gehl has his doubts about 'Smart Cities'

2018-05-07T14:52:00-04:00

I think we haven’t thought through the challenge of technology for city mobility. We are stuck with some 120-year-old ideas that the industry is desperately holding on to. I tell students: Whenever you hear the word “smart,” beware, because that is somebody who wants to sell as many millions as possible of some new gimmick. And he is not necessarily giving you a better quality of life.

Annette Becker and Lessano Negussie, curators of the new exhibition RIDE A BIKE! Reclaim the City at the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) in Frankfurt, Germany, interviewed the 81-year-old 'people-friendly city' evangelist for the show's accompanying book.

Oliver Wainwright on OMA's new Copenhagen Blox building: "missed opportunity for Denmark"

2018-05-02T14:25:00-04:00

OMA’s Blox project stacks a museum, offices, gym, restaurant and housing in a provocative attempt to condense the thrilling energy of a city into a single structure – but the result is a gloomy glass monolith [...] It is OMA’s first ever playground, and it doesn’t look as if having fun comes naturally.

Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj – COAST

The Guardian architecture critic, Oliver Wainwright, reviews OMA's new 'Blox' building in Copenhagen, and it's easy to see that he isn't a fan. Like at all.

"From the outside, it doesn’t look promising. Far from suggesting unpredictable intrigue, the building exudes the off-putting sense of a generic corporate office block," Wainwright writes and concludes his critique of this "missed opportunity for Denmark" with a nod to a similarly sized—but bright and joyous—stacked-big-blocks building by Danish OMA offspring, Bjarke Ingels' Billund Lego House.

BIG's Copenhagen waste-to-energy plant is finally getting the promised ski slope and rooftop park

2018-01-11T15:20:00-05:00

Remember that waste-to-energy incinerator Bjarke Ingels designed for Copenhagen with a ski slope on top a few years back? The plant itself (dubbed 'Copenhill') was already completed and opened in March of 2017, but the ski-slope-rooftop-park-cherry-on-top was left behind — until now: Danish landscape architects SLA just unveiled the final design for the 16,000 sqm Amager Bakke rooftop activity landscape based on the initial BIG master plan.

Image: SLA

From SLA: "When completed in September 2018, the green rooftop park will provide a host of outdoor activities for Copenhageners and visitors alike: Hiking trails, playgrounds, street fitness, trail running, vantage points, climbing walls and shelters – as well as 500+ meters ski slopes designed by BIG."

Image: SLA

"Creating a nature-filled activity park on top of the 88 meters tall waste-to-energy plant is a project without previous references: The extremely steep slope of the roof has put great demands on the planting design and the co...

Archinect - News

Cobe, Dorte Mandrup, JAJA, and Tegnestuen Vandkunsten to lead new mixed-use housing development at Copenhagen's South Harbor

Henning Larsen debuts Open Detail, a digital biomaterials resource for architects

Cobe opens The Opera Park island in Copenhagen's inner harbor

3XN shares new Copenhagen Children's Hospital images ahead of 2026 opening

Upcycled skyscraper earns 3XN a spot on Fast Company's 'world’s most innovative companies' list

Denmark is moving forward with a controversial man-made storm barrier in Copenhagen

Henning Larsen unveils its new design for a 'modern monument' in Copenhagen

BIG's CopenHill waste-to-energy ski slope named World Building of the Year 2021

Henning Larsen unveils its second mass timber project for Copenhagen

'Of course we're not closing!': CopenHill ski slope operator pushes back against potential closure

BIG's CopenHill ski slope may be closing after unexpected wear and tear incites insurance dispute

UNESCO-UIA names Copenhagen the new World Capital of Architecture for 2023

ADEPT's Braunstein Taphouse is 'designed for disassembly'

Arup and COBE design two new metro stations in Copenhagen

Danish Architecture Center unveils new four-story slide by artist Carsten Höller

ADEPT adds timeless brickwork facade to historic Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen

World's tallest climbing wall heading to BIG's CopenHill

Copenhagen selected as UNESCO World Capital of Architecture 2023

The Danish Architecture Center presents "Kids' City," a child-centric exhibition looking at Copenhagen's architecture

Mayors of three Nordic capitals declare their commitment to cleaner construction site practices

BIG's waste-to-energy ski slope, Amager Bakke, is now open

Pavilion made from repurposed IKEA mattresses wins CHART's first prize

BIG to design hotel tower in the center of a Danish amusement park

BIG tests out ski slopes for their waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen

Snøhetta's custom-made cutlery set is now available for you to buy

BIG completes "checkered" Dortheavej affordable housing complex in Copenhagen

​BIG designs Noma restaurant's new “garden village” home in Copenhagen​

Jan Gehl has his doubts about 'Smart Cities'

Oliver Wainwright on OMA's new Copenhagen Blox building: "missed opportunity for Denmark"

BIG's Copenhagen waste-to-energy plant is finally getting the promised ski slope and rooftop park

BIG designs Noma restaurant's new “garden village” home in Copenhagen