Sydhavn church

“How I loved the massive structures of the residential neighborhoods; it was nothing less than hypnotizing to gaze down long dramatic ravines of unbroken facades with the awareness that there is more to the picture than meets the eye, for behind the facades stretched an additional labyrinthine network of backyards, which gifted Copenhagen with depth and captivating mystery.” – Søren Ulrik Thomsen, “Copenhagen Con Amore”.

Sydhavnen is a unique place – a kind of threshold between the new Copenhagen, where adaptation, change, and entertainment permeate both houses and public spaces.

ROBUST ARCHITECTURE

The industrial identity of Teglholmen, with its history of brickworks, clay extraction, and shipping, remains strong. The church embraces these local materials and anchors them as a robust, visible, and inviting gathering point that conveys the past while also being an expression of its own time.

WATER MEETS LIGHT

The church is organized around the cosmic axes of church tradition, connecting the three cosmic realms: above, below, and on the earth.

From the main street, one arrives through a large opening into the city’s new square (at ground level), which also serves as a porch and cultural space. From the ground floor, there is access on several sides toward the harbor and canal spaces (below ground), and from the first floor, the ceremonial church space expresses a connection to heaven and light (above ground). Thus, the building forms a meeting between water and light – between the presence of nature and the presence of God, between birth and death, the physical and the spiritual.

The elements of the room embrace the presence of the three cosmic worlds: ‘Above the earth’ in the form of a significant influx of light from the sky through a light seam along one side; ‘Below the earth’ in the form of a captivating, spectacular reflection of light from the water through a light seam in the floor on the opposite side; and ‘on the earth’ in the calm, lime-plastered, organic interior of the church space. The room thus articulates the east-west axis, extending from water to light.

Culture

Transformation

Public

Private

Planning