Odense’s inner harbor is full of contrasts. The empty silos reflect the industrial history and the harbor’s original function. With their unsentimental weight, created purely out of practicality, they stand like a unique Fynish Manhattan, surrounded by beech forest that stretches all the way down to the water’s edge.

New and old meet in different functions, scale, and quality. It is in the contrast between history and modernity, between the natural and the built, and in the many diverse bodies of water that the interplay emerges, which to us represents the very DNA of the harbor. Here we found the seed to solve the task and provide the answer to a development plan for Odense Harbor City.

Right at the beginning, we made a sketch that has accompanied us – a crumpled drawing that tries to translate our reading of the harbor into an architectural approach. The sketch points to an existing motif in the harbor – in the contrasts. The soft and the hard edges. The industrial and the overgrown.

The main concept stems from the very special qualities found in Odense Harbor, between the contrasting built environment, the surrounding forest, and the unique visual views and connections. The potential of the green spaces, the water, and the distinctive cultural environment is realized and further developed. The islands/districts are connected by bridges, the water surface, the greenery on a large scale, and through views and connections on a more intimate scale.

Projects