Waterfront Culture Centre: Kengo Kuma has plans for Copenhagen

Kengo Kuma & Associates, in collaboration with Cornelius Vöge and Niels Sigsgaard, have won the architecture competition to design a sports and leisure centre at the harbour in Copenhagen. The project by Kuma combines facilities for leisure and sport, harbour swimming pools and wellness in an unconventional way.

The new Waterfront Culture Centre will emphasize the significance of water in the history of Copenhagen. Throughout history, the harbour has made a great contribution to the city’s wealth. Today, the harbour area offers a perfect backdrop for cultural institutions and public life.

This new project, which will be implemented within the framework of a larger development plan for Paper Island, is connected to the concept behind the master plan: its pyramidical roofs echo the characteristic roof profiles of the surrounding urban landscape. At the same time, the new building design stands apart from its historical models.

The terracing of the ground in the western area of the lot creates the impression of a seamless transition from the exterior swimming pools to the waters of the harbour. The interior spaces are the result of the composition of positive and negative volumes: Kengo Kuma have conceptualized all the pools as unforgettable spatial experiences.