Copenhagen, Denmark
Located in Copenhagen’s inner harbor, Opera Park designed by Cobe is a true green oasis featuring six gardens, winding paths small niches, a flower-shaped greenhouse, and an underground parking garage for up to 300 cars.
The Opera Park offers a green and recreational escape from the bustling life of the city and creates a counterpoint to the otherwise densely built inner harbor of Copenhagen.
Opera Park seizes elements of Copenhagen’s historical, romantic gardens in a modern setting.
“The Opera Park is a place where nature comes first amidst Copenhagen’s bustling urban development. The Opera Park uses the elements of the historical romantic garden to tackle contemporary challenges such as a decline in biodiversity and water management,” says Dan Stubbergaard, architect and founder of Cobe.
“Designed for recreation, relaxation, and contemplation, the park provides the city with a much-needed green oasis. As you stroll through the park, you get the feeling of having left the city and being immersed in nature, almost forgetting you are in the middle of the dense city center.”
Designed as a nod to the Royal Danish Opera, the park is a composed landscape with a foreground, a middle ground, and a background.
The plants and trees are placed, so their natural heights create the scenic setting facing the harbor.
The park is a green oasis in the city center, consisting of six gardens from various parts of the world: the North American Forest, the Danish Oak Forest, the Nordic Forest, the Oriental Garden, the English Garden, and the Subtropical Garden housed within the greenhouse.
The diverse gardens hold surprises such as a fountain, a water lily pond, and a reflecting pool where drops of water from a mast gently strike the water’s surface in a soothing rhythm.
Meandering paths and organically shaped flowerbeds knit together the park’s elements.
Rainwater is considered a valuable resource for the park, channeled from the roof of the Royal Danish Opera into underground water reservoirs used for greenhouse irrigation.
Excess rainwater is collected in rain beds for infiltration and evaporation.
The green roofs of the landscaped bridge and greenhouse capture and delay the release of rainwater to the site while also serving as a food source for the park’s fauna.
Project: The Opera Park
Architects: Cobe
Engineers: Vita, Via Trafik, DBI, and Lüchninger Meyer Hermansen
Client: The Opera Park Foundation and The A.P. Moller Foundation
Photographers: Francisco Tirado
