SYDHAVNEN/SLUSEHOLMEN COPENHAGEN Harbour renovation project 2000-2009 Text by Sjoerd Soeters Sydhavnen is the southern harbour disctrict of Copenhagen, located south of the historic city. With Java Island in Amsterdam as an example, Sjoerd Soeters was asked by the Municipality of Copenhagen to make a plan for the transformation of Sydhavnen into a residential area. Sydhavnen consists entirely of city blocks, situated so as to be oriented toward the water on all sides. In order to achieve this, kilometers of canal were added to the area. The size of the blocks are based on the dimensions of the large city blocks in the centre of Copenhagen. The twists and curves of the canals create constantly chang- ing spatial effects and sightlines. Sluseholmen is the first application of the Sydhavnen plan. The island is character- ized by a panoramic view of the surrounding water and a more intimate inner side. The inner area is formed by a curved main canal and several short lateral canals. Each city block is made up of different dwelling types. Supervised by Sjoerd Soeters, the facades of the blocks were worked out by different Dan- ish architects. Architectural guidelines were set for materials, colours, spatial effects and building height, to ensure that each city block remains unified and fits in with the greater ensemble. - 1 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten Masterplan Sydhavnen 2000 Phase 1: Sluseholmen 2003-2009 Client masterplan Masterplan, supervision and architectural guidelines Byggemodningsselskabet Sluseholmen PS (Københavns Sjoerd Soeters Havn & Københavns Kommune) Developer Masterplan JM Danmark - Karre A & B Sjoerd Soeters Sjælsøgruppen - Karre C, D, F & H Nordicom - Karre E & G Block architects - design, construction & coordination Arkitema - Karre A, B, C, D, F & H Gröning Arkitekter - Karre E & G Landscape Arkitema Facade architects Arkitema Kim Utzon Arkitekter C.F. Møller Ladegård Arkitekter C. Stenberg + C. Holgaard Marie Kaarøe Cubo ONV Dissing+Weitling Oscar Breyen Groning Force 4 Perlt & Black arkitekter Format Arkitekter Schmidt, Hammer & Lassen Gröning Arkitekter Soeters Van Eldonk architecten Hvidt & Mølgård Tage Lyneborg Juul & Frost Arkitekter Thora Arkitekter Kasper Danielsen Arkitekter Vandkunsten KHR Arkitekter Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekter Masterplan Teglholmen [ Phase 2: Teglholmen 2005 Masterplan Sjoerd Soeters and Arkitema A Masterplan only. Further development of the plan is not B supervised by Sjoerd Soeters. Masterplan C Sluseholmen F D [ E G H Masterplan Sydhavnen 2000 - 2 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten - 3 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten - 4 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten - 5 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten - 6 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten - 7 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten - 8 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten - 9 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten - 10 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten - 11 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten - 12 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten - 13 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten - 14 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten History agency of state property, the director of very busy at the time, we weren’t able to the Copenhagen departments of planning schedule a meeting within short notice. In One night in June 1999, a tiny fraction and finance and the director of the Inde- the end a compact appointment was made of the Copenhagen Council, the only one pendent Harbour Authority. This steering to meet one evening late in the SAS hotel that had not left the meeting to celebrate committee organised a secretariat whose lobby at the airport of Copenhagen and the beginning of summer holidays, forced three members made a tour to visit new to take the first flight back to Amsterdam the lord mayor in the last voting session city planning projects in London, Ham- next morning. at 00:30 AM to have a comprehensive burg, Berlin, Barcelona, Paris, Rotterdam Our contact, a man of a certain age, kept plan made in the coming year for both the and Amsterdam. Back in Copenhagen they his rain coat on, collar up, like a charac- north and south harbour areas of Copenha- reported to the steering committee that ter by John Le Carré, and explained the gen. The next morning the lord mayor was Borneo Sporenburg by Adriaan Geuze and absolute secrecy of the assignment. He the first to realise that this duty forced Java Island by Sjoerd Soeters were the proposed an almost impossible short plan- upon him was almost completely impossi- best fitting examples for the development ning process. The plan was to be ready for ble to fulfil, as the city of Copenhagen was of plans for respectively the north and the presentation to the steering committee not even the owner of the two areas. south harbour. before June 21 2000 when a city council After the summer a committee of profes- It was winter in Amsterdam when the tel- decision was needed. On midsummer night sionals was put together containing rep- ephone in the office rang and one of the June 23 a big presentation in the city hall resentatives of the ministries of finance, secretaries, a senior planning specialist, was foreseen. environment and planning, the real estate invited us to Copenhagen. As we were As the project plan had to be developed 1. Copenhagen 1659 2. Copenhagen 1898 3. Copenhagen 1906 - 15 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten without involving the local planners, the The site dialogue and debate about the proposed solutions would take place from time The south harbour of Copenhagen, to time with the steering committee in Sydhavnen, is situated south of the city which especially the Harbour Authority centre. The south harbour area is a set of delegate was not at all in favour of the peninsulas along the main water streaming propositions done by complete strangers through Copenhagen in south-south-west on his territory. direction, each of the peninsulas sepa- The Danish planning and architectural rated by a side canal with minor branches profession was at the same time highly or a bigger surface of water, a knot with skeptical about the invitation given to three different sized docks. these foreigners, because the commissions As the harbour activities have been moved given were considered the most out further north to a new and bigger prestigious planning jobs at that time in port, the south harbour became redun- all of Denmark. dant. While left-over structures, silos, bonded warehouses and cranes stood idly, junkyards for car parts and raw material deposits took over the quay areas. An old fashioned energy plant, rooted in highly polluted soil, producing a cloud of con- taminated air and posing various explosion risks around the intake nozzle for oil on the dock side, is a continuing limitation for the development of housing in the area. A modern office building for a ship- engine industry occupies an important waterfront corner of one of the peninsula. The inevitable noise near the try-out shed from the engines that are tested is also limiting the possibilities for housing in the immediate area. Just like in the eastern docklands in Am- sterdam, the water is ever present at 2 meters below quay level. The water though in this case is flowing, cristal clear 4. Copenhagen in 2000, the marked area is Sydhavnen 5. Sydhavnen 2000 - 16 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten and salt. Making canals is equally differ- scape like fingers of one hand. At the same ent here: the sandy soil makes it possible time, between those fingers, the land- to just dig them out cheap and fast behind scape should be able touch the old city piled metal sheets. centre. This strategy resulted in the subur- banization of a far bigger area around the After the Second World War, Copenhagen city and ever bigger traffic problems of expanded according to the municipal ‘fin- growing numbers of commuters. ger plan’: the urban expansions should be With the prospect of the opening of the stretching out into the surrounding land- Øresund Bridge from Copenhagen to Swe- 6. Sydhavnen 2000 7. Sydhavnen 2000 8. Sydhavnen 2000 9. ‘Finger plan’ of Copenhagen - 17 - Soeters Van Eldonk architecten den in 2000, modern big high tech compa- Genius loci nies set up their head offices in the har- bour areas and on the waterfront of the Looking for the genius loci of Copenha- city of Copenhagen thus attracting young, gen, we found a medieval looking inner highly educated professionals. However, city where vertically developed individual the housing possibilities in the old city, houses address lively narrow streets and mainly small two room apartments in so- intimate squares. Neo classicist influence cial housing projects, didn’t answer the is found in the parts of the city that were demands of these young urban profession- rebuilt after the fire of 1795. als. There was an urgent need for the kind The introduction of Dutch designers for of housing that would satisfy them and commissions both in the north and south that would keep them from seeking set- harbour aroused public debate, stirred tlement in the suburban districts further by the professional community. However, away. it stands in a proud tradition of invit- By transforming the southern harbour ing foreign city planners when they had with its long waterline into a residential proved their ideas to be the best of their area, the city could offer an alternative. A time. In the 17th century, the Dutch have primitive illustration therefore was drawn been invited to design Christianshavn at up, showing that the plan was aiming at a the east side as a canal-area. The French, house on the waterside with a small jetty highly successful and fashionable in the 12. Copenhagen, individual houses in narrow streets and a boat (havne bolig), instead of the 18th century, drew up the northern exten- traditional house surrounded by a hedged sion of the city in a plan for Frederiksstad. garden (have bolig), blue instead of green.