BLOX is a new six-story mixed-use facility located in Copenhagen’s harbor front. The project has helped to reconnect a section of the waterfront with the city, by redeveloping an old derelict site into a communal urban public space.
After 10 years of development, the project was officially opened to the public in May 2018. The social aspects of sustainability (alongside the environmental aspects) were kept at the forefront of the design process. The site is closed to public transport and the publicly accessible pedestrianized route running through the building creates a new link between the city and harbor that was previously cut off by a main road.
In addition to ambitious sustainability targets, user comfort and lifetime flexibility are important elements for the durability of BLOX. The building is acoustically isolated from road noise and vibrations with a highway bridge construction and high insulation facades. The office facades are fully glazed to provide a generous outlook and to reduce lighting energy consumption. Minimal low-energy lighting fixtures combined with user task lights are used, and both lighting and façade sun shading are automated through centralized daylight control, with user controls.
The mixed-use development promotes social integration. The structural design of the site facilitates use by different demographics of the community - a playground during the day is transformed into a stage/amphitheater seating in the evening. What was previously a space for cars has become a space for people and what was a space to pass through is now a space to reside.
Pictures reference: photographer Rasmus Hjortshøj