In a time of intense construction activity throughout Copenhagen, green recreational spaces have become more and more scarce. Yet, in the heart of the dense and historic city center, one of the inner harbor’s prime locations has not been developed, but transformed into a lush, green park island, featuring six gardens and a greenhouse. Situated between The Royal Danish Opera and the soon-to-be-completed Paper Island, The Opera Park offers a green escape from the bustling life of the city.
A green oasis in Copenhagen
The Opera Park occupies a green lawn on a former industrial site adjacent to The Royal Danish Opera. With the size of three soccer fields, the public park consists of six gardens from various parts of the world: the North American Forest, the Danish Oak Forest, the Nordic Forest, the Oriental Garden, the English Garden, and the Subtropical Garden housed within a flower-shaped greenhouse, which also houses a café and the entrance to an underground car park.
The diverse gardens hold surprises such as a fountain, and a water lily pond, while meandering paths and organically shaped flowerbeds knit together the park’s elements. More than 600 trees, 40,000 bulb plants and 80,000 herbaceous bushes and perennials are planted on the garden island, including 223 unique local and exotic plants. The aim was to include a wide variety of species to encourage birds and insects to find shelter and food in the park.
Cobe is an architecture company founded in 2006 by the architect and professor at Harvard University, Dan Stubber¬gaard. Today, the company is an international hub of more than 150 dedicated professionals devoted to creating extraordinary cities, landscapes and buildings that immediately make a difference in the everyday and contribute to a future-proof urban life.
Cobe is rooted in the Scandinavian design tradition and work with all typologies and scales. From design objects, urban spaces, landscapes and buildings – to urban and strategic develop¬ment plans for districts and cities. The Cobe office is situated in a converted warehouse in Copenha-gen’s Nordhavn, wherefrom they export knowledge, expertise, mindset and values to cities across the globe.