Come with us to NordØ - A UIA side event
NordØ Green Facade
A symbiosis of Architecture and Nature
Join us on a green and innovative visit to the unique and biodiverse Henning Larsen project at NordØ, in Copenhagen’s Northern Harbor district.
See the first Vertical green facade project and learn about the impressive transformation of the site, and how this green facade can adapt to different kinds of architecture and facade expressions, while functioning as an integral building component.
Plants grow lush and green, and a symbiosis between architecture and nature emerge.
The event is hosted by Henning Larsen, BG Byggros and Komproment, and you will be joining Jakob Strømann-Andersen, Director, Innovation and Sustainability at Henning Larsen and Kamilla Aggerlund, Landscape Architect MDL and Vertical advisor on the tour.
The event focuses on new innovative living architecture, which is designed to rethink building resources by substituting the buildings traditional facade with a living green facade. This event exemplifies how to build with climate adaptation and biodiversity in mind.
Sign up for the event here
What you will see on the tour
At the start of the new millennium, Copenhagen’s Nordhavn district was still a primarily industrial neighborhood – a far cry from the waterfront neighborhood it is today.
In the years since, steady growth with a focus on innovation has helped the waterfront area to become a testing ground for prototypical concepts, from self-driving buses to waste recycling and rooftop playgrounds.
NordØ is no exception. With a close connection to the rest of Nordhavn’s bustling urban environment, NordØ focuses on community, diversity, a strengthened social life, and dense living. NordØ benefits from its close relationship to the harbor, which boasts of water clean enough for swimming and fishing.
While the 55,000m2 development will add 115 new homes, a new hotel, retail, restaurants and amble blue and green spaces, the real innovation of the project is the office building’s new green facade, where a new type of biophilic facade element integrates with the building design.
With both its aesthetic and structural features, the new facade element opens the door to new ways of designing with vertical nature in architecture. The facade incorporates a controlled hydraulic buffer capacity, which collects rainwater from the roof. This ensures that water is constantly accessible to the plants and adds robustness in operation.
For this microclimate of NordØ, which includes harsh winds, cold temperatures, and salt from the sea, the team has selected plants with two very different sets of qualities; some plants look beautiful 365 days a year, but are naturally low in biodiversity, whereas others are hosts to as many as 132 different native insects, albeit not very pretty on the eye during colder months. In that way, the facade accommodates the need for both an aesthetically appealing solution and one that promotes biodiversity.
Developed by PFA Ejendomme, NordØ is a mixed-use development in Copenhagen’s Northern Harbor neighborhood. The facade will make its debut on the office building “Porten”, planned for completion in June 2023. The green facade is an Ecoinnovation MUDP-project designed in collaboration between Henning Larsen, BG Byggros and Komproment and is supported by the Danish Ministry of Environment.
Details for the day
Date and time: July 3 2023, 17:00-19:30
Meeting point: Netto-bådene, Anlægsplads ’Orlogsmuseet’, Overgaden Oven Vandet 58, 1415 København
The metro (M1) will take you directly to Christianshavn from the UIA congress, Bellacenteret. You can go by yourself, or you can follow along with us from the exhibition stand C2-014 at 16.15.
During the boat ride there willl be some refreshments, a light dinner and a drink.
This event finishes at NordØ. From here you can take the metro back to the city center.
Mode of transport: Canal boat
Destination: NordØ
Guides: Jakob Strømann-Andersen, Director, Innovation and Sustainability, Partner at Henning Larsen and Kamilla Aggerlund, Landscape Architect MDL, DGNB-Consultant, Vertical adviser at BG Byggros
Price: Free of charge
The event is free, but in case of non-attendance, DKK 500 will be invoiced to cover costs.
