What happens when a city’s industrial past becomes the raw material for its future? In Copenhagen, Nordhavn transforms the old harbor into a living laboratory of sustainable urbanism, where warehouses and docks give way to independent districts, small islands, and canals that redefine what it means to inhabit the city.
Founded in 2006 in Copenhagen, Cobe Architects has become known for its focus on public life, urban transformation, and strategic master planning. From cultural buildings and public spaces to large-scale urban developments, the office has played a central role in shaping Copenhagen's contemporary identity, particularly through its work on harbor regeneration. Among these, the Nordhavn master plan stands out as one of Europe's most ambitious waterfront redevelopments. During the Copenhagen Architecture Biennial, ArchDaily's Editor-in-Chief, Christele Harrouk, met with Mads Birgens, Head of Urbanism at Cobe, at the firm's office in Nordhavn. In the conversation, Birgens reflected on the evolution of the project since the office first won the open international competition in 2008, and on the broader lessons of designing cities for proximity, diversity, and long-term adaptability.
The City of Copenhagen has announced Team SLA as the winner of a design competition to create a new, large-scale urban park in Nordhavn. The project, titled "Nordør – New Park", was designed by Team SLA and By & Havn, and envisions a 30-hectare (75-acre) coastal nature park. Led by the design studio SLA, Team SLA includes VITA Engineers, Urban Agency, Aaen Engineering, Pihlmann Architects, Buro Happold, Kerstin Bergendal, Holdbart, and Aiming Spaces.
A "nature park" is a protected area where conservation is balanced with sustainable development and human use. It often encompasses human-shaped cultural landscapes and integrates strategies for regional development, supporting local communities and promoting the conscious use of the land. This framework allows the proposal to be understood as a platform for recreation, eco-tourism, environmental education, research, and regional growth.
C.F. Møller Landscape's Nordhavn Islands project has won the international competition for an innovative learning, activity and water landscape in the harbor basin in front of the new Copenhagen International School in Nordhavn, Copenhagen. The new Nordhavn district is taking shape fast, and, having won the international Nordhavn Islands project competition, C.F. Møller Landscape will now create one of the first and most unique projects in, on and under the water in the quarter.
With the intention of creating a beautiful public space from what is usually a one-function building, JAJA architects are redefining what a parking deck can be. Their recent competition entry for a parking garage in the city of Nordhavn, Copenhagen is an inviting structure that incorporates green facades and a rooftop playground, making full use of its placement in an up-and-coming urban neighborhood. Read all about the aptly named “Park ‘N’ Play”, after the break.
