Bjarke Ingels is headed home for his latest project: Aarhus Island, a waterside development in Denmark's second-largest city. The mixed-use development will implement Ingels' signature angled look in its residential towers, with stepped towers that rise to defined peaks.
According to ArchPaper, these towers will include over 200 residential units. A sizable boardwalk will wrap around the development, which will include not only the residential units but also an amphitheater, retail and dining, floating swimming pools, and a sandy, beach-like area. Work is slated to begin next year, with the first components of Aarhus Island opening in 2017.
BIG´s design for Bassin 7 in Århus, Denmark, will breathe life into the harborfront of Denmark´s second largest city by creating a new public promenade for its citizens. Rather than developing private residences and activating the remaining space between the buildings once residents have moved in, a series of recreational and cultural activities, including a beach zone, a theater and café will transform the area and create an entirely new neighborhood in Århus.
The new public promenade claims the water´s edge as public realm, stretching from the very tip of the waterfront towards the city center, and connects to the existing boat harbor to the west as well as the nearby town square, Nikoline Kochs Plads. The promenade meanders through the plot, creating pockets of new public spaces while blurring the boundaries between the city and water.
Seven unique buildings, each different in shape and size, will populate the site over time. The residential buildings will adapt to their immediate surroundings and will be composed of low-, mid-, and high-rise structures to ensure intimacy, life and activity at street level. Every building has a private courtyard for the residents, while the streets remain entirely public.
By designing the public space as the first step, the masterplan carefully mixes public programs with private residences, creating a new dynamic urban area where public and private realms converge.
Related Stories
| May 18, 2011
Eco-friendly San Antonio school combines history and sustainability
The 113,000-sf Rolling Meadows Elementary School in San Antonio is the Judson Independent School District’s first sustainable facility, with green features such as vented roofs for rainwater collection and regionally sourced materials.
| May 18, 2011
New Reform Jewish Independent school opens outside Boston
The Rashi School, one of only 17 Reform Jewish independent schools in North American and Israel, opened a new $30 million facility on a 166-acre campus shared with the Hebrew SeniorLife community on the Charles River in Dedham, Mass.
| May 18, 2011
Design diversity celebrated at Orange County club
The Orange County, Calif., firm NKDDI designed the 22,000-sf Luna Lounge & Nightclub in Pomona, Calif., to be a high-end multipurpose event space that can transition from restaurant to lounge to nightclub to music venue.
| May 18, 2011
Lab personnel find comfort in former Winchester gun factory
The former Winchester Repeating Arms Factory in New Haven, Conn., is the new home of PepsiCo’s Biology Innovation Research Laboratory.
| May 18, 2011
Addition provides new school for pre-K and special-needs kids outside Chicago
Perkins+Will, Chicago, designed the Early Learning Center, a $9 million, 37,000-sf addition to Barrington Middle School in Barrington, Ill., to create an easily accessible and safe learning environment for pre-kindergarten and special-needs students.
| May 18, 2011
Raphael Viñoly’s serpentine-shaped building snakes up San Francisco hillside
The hillside location for the Ray and Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine building at the University of California, San Francisco, presented a challenge to the Building Team of Raphael Viñoly, SmithGroup, DPR Construction, and Forell/Elsesser Engineers. The 660-foot-long serpentine-shaped building sits on a structural framework 40 to 70 feet off the ground to accommodate the hillside’s steep 60-degree slope.
| May 18, 2011
New center provides home to medical specialties
Construction has begun on the 150,000-sf Medical Arts Pavilion at the University Medical Center in Princeton, N.J.
| May 18, 2011
Improvements add to Detroit convention center’s appeal
Interior and exterior renovations and updates will make the Detroit Cobo Center more appealing to conventioneers. A new 40,000-sf ballroom will take advantage of the center’s riverfront location, with views of the river and downtown.
| May 18, 2011
One of Delaware’s largest high schools seeks LEED for Schools designation
The $82 million, 280,000-sf Dover (Del.) High School will have capacity for 1,800 students and feature a 900-seat theater, a 2,500-seat gymnasium, and a 5,000-seat football stadium.