Copenhagen Opera Park by Cobe

The central pavilion is in the shape of a flower. © Francisco Tirado

Cobe has designed a green oasis in Copenhagen's inner harbour, right next to the opera house. The 21,5 ha meadow in a prime inner-city location was originally intended for housing.

The organically shaped pavilion with large glass surfaces and cantilevered roof is surrounded by lawns, trees and flower beds. Inside, people sit at tables. Urban architecture is visible in the background.

Only the top floor of the greenhouse is visible. The underground car park is located on the two levels below ground. © Francisco Tirado

Floating roof

At the centre of the green space is the greenhouse and restaurant. Its floral, expansive roof of wild flowering grasses appears to float above the frameless, curved glazing. In reality it rests on a steel structure. The underside of the ceiling, made of irregularly perforated plywood panels, resembles the sponge of a mushroom. Inside, subtropical plants grow in open beds and in the two-storey atrium.

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Prelude to the foyer

A curved staircase in the atrium leads down to the 300-space public underground car park. A staircase at the north-west corner of the parking deck leads up to a walkway. Like the façade of the greenhouse, its sides are closed with frameless curved glazing. As a prelude to the foyer, it winds over a green bridge to the sweeping roof of the Opera House.

The organically shaped ceiling with round skylights and perforated surface diffuses the light. Curved slatted walls and trees growing into the space characterize the ambience.

Circular skylights provide daylight inside the greenhouse with subtropical plants in the atrium. © Francisco Tirado

A visit to the park immerses visitors in nature and gives them the feeling of having left the city. The winding paths offer new perspectives and reveal hidden nooks and crannies. The garden is divided into six vegetation zones to commemorate the ships that once called at the port from all over the world.

An organic park with different types of grass and trees. Many birch trees surround a narrow path of stone slabs that leads through it. The sky is bright and the grass is dense.

Paths meander between organically shaped beds and water features. © Francisco Tirado

The park is designed in curved, organic shapes, with different types of trees and grass. A flagstone path leads through it, and a marsh-like body of water completes the scene.

Paths allow for deceleration and contemplation. © Francisco Tirado

In addition to the subtropical garden in the greenhouse, there is a cherry orchard, an English garden, a birch forest, a North American forest and a Danish forest. 223 species of plants provide a rich habitat for insects and birds and change with the seasons in fragrance, colour and volume. The colourful flowers of spring are replaced by shades of green in summer and later by red and yellow autumn leaves. Even in winter, evergreen pines and frozen water surfaces create an attractive environment.

Read more in Detail 7/8.2024 and in our databank Detail Inspiration.

Architecture / Landscape architecture: Cobe
Client: The Opera Park Foundation. Donation by The A.P. Moller Foundation

Location: Copenhagen (DK)