Australian architect Marshall Blecher and Magnus Maarbjerg from Danish design studio Fokstrot have teamed up to create a wooden island that floats in Copenhagen harbor.
CPH-Ø1 is a small 20m2 handmade wooden platform with a linden tree at its center. It is a simple and iconic metaphor for an uninhabited island and represents the first phase of a completely new type of public space project called Copenhagen Islands.
The Copenhagen Islands will introduce a completely new type of public parks in Copenhagen – A “Parkipelago” that focuses on the place and function of public spaces in the city – both in a local context where rapid urban development along the harbor side threatens the recreational spaces, but also in a global context where rising sea levels create new challenges for urban environments.
The islands will be dispatched to suitable locations around the inner harbor but will also find their way to more forgotten and underused corners of the harbor, catalyzing life and activity. Hopefully giving back a little bit of space for whimsey and wonder to old industrial harbor sides.
CPH-Ø1 will be joined by CPH-Ø2, Ø3 and many more. They will include some simple swimming platforms but also a floating sauna island, floating gardens, floating mussel farms and a floating sail-in café, all free to be explored by the increasing number of kayakers, sailors, and fishermen in the harbor.
During winter and for special events or festivals, the islands can be brought together, creating a cluster more easily accessed from the harbor side.
The Island will move around the harbor over the next year, free for anyone to use for bbq’ing, camping, and swimming. It will also host small events at different locations.
CPHØ1 was constructed by hand in the boat building yards in the south harbor of Copenhagen using traditional wooden boat building techniques. It was made entirely from sustainably and locally sourced materials.
