Design for nature & community life created for coastal district

Copenhagen is preparing for one of its most significant urban transformations in decades with the creation of a new 30 ha coastal park designed by Team SLA, including Tenderstream member Urban Agency. The project will create one of the capital’s largest green areas on a former landfill site in Nordhavn, with the new design set to establish an example of how cities can reconnect with nature while providing space for community life, recreation, and biodiversity.

The park, named Nordør, is built within a rugged landscape of slopes, ridges, and deposited soils left behind from years of landfill from the construction industry. Rather than erasing this industrial past, the design refines and adapts it into a place where nature and people coexist on equal terms. Minimal interventions shape the terrain into a mosaic of meadows, lagoons, beaches, forest edges, and marine reefs. These varied habitats preserve and expand the living conditions for rare species, while simultaneously offering city residents spaces for sports, leisure, and quiet immersion in nature. 

A defining feature of Nordør is its variety of experiences. In the south, sports fields, a beach, and community spaces invite social interaction and outdoor activity. Moving north, the landscape transitions into quieter natural zones where wildlife takes priority. Landmarks will give distinct identities to different areas of the park, including a 24-meter-high viewpoint, a west-facing lagoon beach, and Copenhagen’s longest forest edge. 

Urban Agency’s key contribution comes through carefully placed architectural interventions. These small-scale structures are minimal in footprint yet rich in impact, offering new ways for the public to engage with the coastal landscape, weaving human experience into the broader ecological vision.

Construction of the park is scheduled to begin in 2028. Once completed, Nordør will offer a unique coastal landscape where the boundaries between city and nature are redefined, intended to stand as a model for sustainable urbanism worldwide rooted in Copenhagen’s tradition of democratic, inclusive, and forward-looking design.

Lucy Nordberg
Tenderstream Head of Research

This tender was first published by Tenderstream on 30.09.2024 here

Start your free trial here or email our team directly at customerservices@tenderstream.com