Copenhagen, Denmark, has its fair share of floating architecture, with BIG's floating housing and Urban Power's artificial islands being two notable examples. A project by Marshall Blecher and Fokstrot is another highlight and will add greenery-covered park-like islands to the city too.
Copenhagen Islands is a not for profit initiative supported by Københavns Kommune, Og Havn and Den Gode Havneliv. The islands themselves will be installed in Copenhagen's south harbor and will be constructed by hand locally using traditional boat building techniques. They will consist of recycled and sustainably-sourced materials.
The islands will come in different shapes and sizes and will be covered in grass and trees. They'll be moved around the harbor during different seasons and made available for swimmers, kayakers and boaters. They can also be joined together if required for special events and the like to make one large island.
The first prototype island, named CPH-Ø1, was completed in 2018 and has proven popular for picnics and even hosted a photography exhibition. This will be followed by three more islands launching this year, with more planned in the next few years. Some ideas for the future based on the same design that have been put forward by the team include floating saunas, mussel farms, and a "sail-in café."
"The Copenhagen Islands introduce a completely new type of public parks in Copenhagen - a 'parkipelago' focusing on the place and function of public spaces in the city - both in a local context with rapid urban development along the harbor side, threatening the recreational spaces, but also in a global context with rising sea levels creating new challenges for urban environments," says the team.
We recently reported on another planned park in the water in the form of Heatherwick Studio's Little Island in New York City, though that project will be supported on stilts rather than being made up of floating platforms.
Sources: Copenhagen Islands, Marshall Blecher