A DIP IN THE HARBOUR

Life changed in Copenhagen when the city’s first harbor baths opened in summer 2002 on Islands Brygge. The water in the Fairway was pronounced clean, an incredible turnaround from its past as a shipping artery. Copenhageners got a new and welcome opportunity to jump into the water and still enjoy a view of the city’s towers. The facility soon became a symbol of the new life that has sprung up in so many places along the waterfront. A temporary facility came first, but was towed over behind the Fisketorvet shopping mall the following year when a permanent structure was built on Islands Brygge with room for 600 bathers, open seven days a week throughout the summer. From time to time it has been necessary to close the baths temporarily when the city’s sewers overflow after downpours and discharge wastewater into the harbour. The Copenhagen Environmental Protection Agency permits bathing again when the Fairway has safe E. coli bacteria levels.

Room for all ages

The Harbor Baths are on the site of the Rysensteen Public Baths, which were closed in 1954 as a health hazard. The facility was designed by the young PLOT office (now split in two: B.I.G. and JDS). It rests on pontoons and comprises regular swimming pools, little wading pools of different shapes, and diving pools with diving boards from three to five meters high. Simple materials and designs bring to mind classical public baths. An elongated rectangle with long wooden promenades resembles the deck of a passenger ship. The diving tower looks like a ship’s prow and the lifeguard tower like its smokestack.

The Harbour Park

The Harbour Baths are an integral part of the Harbour Park (Havneparken), a long, green expanse that was laid out at the initiative of local residents and creates a link to the new Havnestaden quarter. It contains many elements that bear witness both to the site’s history and to its new use as a modern urban park. Elements from different factories that were based in Islands Brygge were consequently given new functions. One example is the steel girders that have been used as a pergola. Another is the upside-down hull of the Pinen ferry, which has been used as the roof of an open-air stage. In order to ensure facilities for as many different user groups as possible, skateboard ramps have been installed at the northern end, next to lawns for volleyball. There are also barbecue pits in various parts of the park, a playground, and ball fields.

Latest Update: 2 June 2010