Aarhus Docklands
Neighbourhood in Aarhus Municipality, Central Denmark Region, Denmark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aarhus Docklands (Danish: Aarhus Ø) is a redeveloped neighbourhood in Aarhus, Denmark.
Aarhus Docklands
Aarhus Ø | |
|---|---|
Neighbourhood | |
View of Aarhus Docklands from Riis Skov (July 2017) | |
| Coordinates: 56.164°N 10.228°E | |
| Country | Denmark |
| Regions of Denmark | Central Denmark Region |
| Municipality | Aarhus Municipality |
| District | Midtbyen |
| Postal code | 8000 Aarhus C |
Construction of Aarhus Docklands began in 2008 and most buildings and construction was finished by 2018. The project converted the former container port, Nordhavn in the Port of Aarhus, to a new residential, educational, commercial and recreational area, consisting of high rise buildings of modern architectural designs, seaside promenades and a network of canals.
Fully developed, the Docklands neighbourhood is intended to sustain 10-12,000 residents and 10,000 jobs in an area equalling the size of Trøjborg, an adjacent neighbourhood. Aarhus Docklands offers a view of the Aarhus Bay and is located a short distance to Midtbyen.[1]
Aarhus Docklands is part of the larger Peri-urban Harbour-areas (De Bynære Havnearealer) comprising nearly all of the old harbour district along the coastline. It is among the largest harbourfront development projects in Europe.[2]
Projects
The projects at Aarhus Docklands includes several notable architectural designs:
- Isbjerget (The Iceberg), by JDS Architects and CEBRA won the 2013 MIPIM property development Awards.
- Z house, by Bjarke Ingels Group.
- Grundfos Kollegiet, a dormitory financed by the Danish company of Grundfos.
- Navitas Park, a research centre of energy technology. Part of INCUBA Science Park, with education, engineering, innovation and entrepreneurship.[3]
- Lighthouse (or Lighthouse*). A residential project, including the tallest tower in Denmark at 142 metres.
Lighthouse
| Lighthouse | |
|---|---|
Lighthouse (July 2023) | |
![]() Interactive map of the Lighthouse area | |
General information | |
| Status | finished 2022 |
| Type | Residential, Commercial |
| Location | Aarhus |
| Coordinates | 56°09′56.26″N 10°13′52.88″E |
| Estimated completion | 2014 |
| Opening | 2012 |
| Cost | DKK 2.5 billion |
| Height | |
| Roof | 142 m (466 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 800,000 m2 (8,600,000 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | 3XN & UNStudio |
| Developer | Lighthouse*konsortiet |
Structural engineer | Grontmij Carl Bro |
The Lighthouse (or Lighthouse*), is a residential project in Aarhus Docklands, the new harbour front district of Aarhus. The project was originally divided in 2 phases, but due to financial problems, the first phase was sub-divided in 2 stages. Both these initial stages are completed, with stage 2 finished in 2014.
Despite what its name might suggest, Lighthouse is not actually a functioning lighthouse, since such was not needed at the time of construction.
Construction and change of plans
The original second phase of the Lighthouse project, included a 142 m (466 ft) tower. Located at the edge of the harbour front, overlooking the Aarhus Bay, it would have been the tallest building in Denmark and a landmark for the city of Aarhus. It was planned to comprise more apartments, offices, a hotel and restaurant and underground parking lots. In addition to the original financial problems, it was discovered during the construction of phase 1 in 2008, that the construction ground was not stable enough to support a tower of that size. A countrywide geological survey showed that the building site was in fact one of the most unstable in Denmark.[4] In December 2013, the investment company Havneinvest A/S decided not to use the buy- and construct-option for the tower site. The option prize was DKK 270 mill (originally DKK 417 million[5]), but after four years of thorough investigations for DKK 9 million, the investor concluded that the project could not be realized. The investigations revealed among several issues, that the wind conditions could not allow for balconies at the tower.[6] The Hilton Hotels & Resorts company has also abandoned the project, because they found the hotel capacity in Aarhus large enough for the market.[7]
The construction price for the tower has been estimated at DKK 1.5 billion and now Aarhus Municipality is considering other investors and a rethinking of the original tower project altogether.[5]
Return of the tower
On 13 March 2018, a modified version of the tower was publicly reinstated into the Lighthouse plan. The 45-story, 142-metre (466 ft)-tall building was completed in 2023.[8]
