Klar, Jds: Kalvebod Waves

The City of Copenhagen's opens a new waterfront to the public, the Kalvebod Waves finally make this inner city waterfront accessible and attractive to the public, creating urban continuity and sunny spots on the water.

Historically this part of the harbor was devoted to industrial activities. Then in the 80’s and 90’s, the city developed the area into an architecturally austere mono-programmed harbor front, leaving its quay barren and open to strong winds and deserted by citizens. When addressing this infamously gloomy and desolated side of the harbor, we put our focus on two major design aspects: to create urban continuity and to locate ourselves on the sunny spots of the water.

Kalvebod-Waves_01 — Klar architects and Jds architects, Kalvebod Waves, Copenhagen, Denmark. Top: photo Ursula Bach. Above: photo Jds architects

What has doomed the Kalvebod area until now were the long shadows drawn by the imposing structures fronting it. We studied the course of those shadows throughout the day and the year and located two main pockets of shadow-free zones. We decided to program those areas as resting islands on the water. From there on, all we needed was to find an active way to reconnect those islands to the urban network and to make them relate to the city’s infrastructure.

Kalvebod-Waves_02 — Klar architects and Jds architects, Kalvebod Waves, Copenhagen, Denmark, photo Klar architects

The 4.000 sqm development consists of a “waving” pier, where the citizens and visitors of Copenhagen can explore the waterfront from different levels and enjoy its amazing views. From here you can take a walk or boat-tour, rent a kayak in the kayak – hotel, get a coffee in one of the container shops, sit in the sun or simply enjoy an exhiting and active public space.

Kavebod-Waves_04 — Klar architects and Jds architects, Kalvebod Waves, Copenhagen, Denmark, photo Ursula Bach

The “waving” form of the development plays with varying distances to the waterlevel, while creating a variety of bassins for different water activities. Since “the Waves” partially opened 6 weeks ago, it has already become a magnet for urban life and water activities. The new harbourfront at Kalvebod Brygge in Copenhagen is designed by Klar Architects and Jds in collaboration with the engineers from Sloth Møller and Niras.