MAST: Designing for life on the water

Designing for life on the water

MAST (Maritime Architecture Studio) was founded by the Danish-Australian architect duo Magnus Maarbjerg and Marshall Blecher. Their combined design studio and workshop is based in the boat yards of Copenhagen, giving them a unique insight into the technical conditions required to build on water, as well as the social dynamics that create meaningful and sustainable water environments.

Their mission is to help cities develop sustainable and innovative waterscapes that benefit people and the planet. For several years, they have discussed the relationship between the city and the water and worked intensively on developing new sustainable concepts and concrete methods for building on water.

Their projects include ‘Copenhagen Islands’, a floating islands project designed to create a park, or ‘parkipelago’ on water that can be used for myriad leisure activities. One aim of the project was to focus attention on an improved harbour environment, global climate change, and increased water levels – some of the biggest problems the world is facing today.

Another project, innovative floating pontoon system ‘Land On Water’, is modular and flat-packable, overcoming some of the problems inherent in traditional CO2-heavy floating pontoon solutions, typically made from concrete, styrofoam, and steel.