Krøyers Plads

The historic warehouses and storage buildings in Copenhagen harbour are among Denmark’s most beautiful industrial sites. Many of the brick buildings here are already 300 years old and have recently been converted into residential, office and cultural buildings. Only Krøyers Plads was spared this fate for a long time: many project developers and investors sought to develop this derelict site right on the waterfront and proposed concepts, all of which, however, met with rejection from the local population. In the end, it was decided to develop the 20,000-square-metre industrial site through a participatory and grassroots democratic process, involving local residents in the planning.

The result is a vibrant little corner of the city, positioned on the waterfront like a delicate, carefully crafted seal between the Royal Theatre and the Free State of Christiania. The three buildings rise up to six storeys high and are oriented in terms of location, size and proportion to the surrounding development. The angled roof surfaces, which stand out against the façade like the angular contours of a hill, appear as a slightly playful reference to the historic gables, dormers and crane houses that have always characterised the harbour.

The choice of materials is particularly sensitive, as the architects decided to develop two entirely different types of brick individually, thereby carrying the diversity of the location into the present day.

«The building material plays a central role in this project», says Dan Stubbergaard, founder and chief architect of COBE. «We drew inspiration from the red and ochre tones of the historic buildings. Thanks to the variety of stones, each with its own distinct texture, we were able to respond to the surroundings and create a dialogue between old and new, between lightness and weight.»

Krøyers Plads comprises 105 flats ranging from 80 to 250 square metres in size, numerous shops and restaurants, and a supermarket. The entire project was planned in accordance with the principles of sustainability and resource conservation, falling 40 per cent below the statutory energy limits. For its socially and environmentally innovative approach, the urban development, completed in early 2016, has already received several awards – including the Green Good Design Award and the Nordic Eco-Label.