If Part 1 was about Copenhagen’s relationship with water, culture, and skyline, Part 2 moves into the city’s most experimental dimension: the architecture of the future.
Few names are more closely linked to modern Copenhagen than Bjarke Ingels and his studio BIG. Across the Danish capital, BIG’s projects have helped redefine what urban living can look like — blending housing, sustainability, recreation, and bold visual identity. This is the Copenhagen that international architecture students come to study, and where visitors can literally walk through ideas that have influenced cities around the world. Several of these landmarks are highlighted in your itinerary document.
Amager Bakke: where sustainability becomes landscape
There may be no building in Copenhagen that better captures the city’s forward-looking spirit than Amager Bakke, also known internationally as CopenHill. Completed in 2018, this waste-to-energy plant turns industrial infrastructure into public space. Yes — it is both a power plant and an urban playground. Its sloping roof functions as an all-season ski and hiking area, while the exterior climbing wall transforms the building into a recreational landmark. This is classic Copenhagen thinking: sustainability is not hidden away but made visible, usable, and beautiful. For ATN readers, it is one of the clearest expressions of the Nordic idea that climate-conscious design should improve daily life.
8 House: the vertical village
Perhaps BIG’s most iconic residential project in Copenhagen is 8 House, completed in 2010 in Ørestad. Seen from above, the structure forms a giant figure eight. But the real experience is walking it. A continuous pathway rises from ground level through the building, allowing residents to move almost as if strolling through a village street. This is architecture as social design. Housing, offices, shops, and public circulation are merged into a single flowing structure. The result is one of the most discussed residential buildings in contemporary Europe.
VM Houses: geometry and light
Before 8 House came VM Houses, completed in 2005 and already a landmark in the evolution of BIG’s language. The building’s angular balconies and dramatic geometry were designed to maximise daylight and views. This obsession with light is deeply Nordic. In a region where winter darkness shapes everyday life, architecture often begins with the question: how does light move through space? VM Houses answers that beautifully.
The Mountain: infrastructure meets home
One of Copenhagen’s most fascinating experiments is The Mountain, completed in 2008. At first glance, it looks almost surreal. A parking structure forms the base, while terraced apartments rise above it like a hillside. The result resembles an artificial mountain — a deliberate reinterpretation of nature inside the urban fabric. Each apartment gains a private terrace, light, and views. This is an example of architecture solving practical urban density challenges without sacrificing quality of life.
Urban Rigger: floating homes for the future
One of the most original ideas in the document is Urban Rigger, floating student housing units launched in 2018. Built from repurposed shipping containers and placed directly on the harbour, these structures respond to two challenges at once:
• lack of urban space
• affordable student accommodation
Again, this is deeply Copenhagen: experimentation with a strong social purpose.
BIG HQ: the home of an architectural revolution
Finally, no contemporary Copenhagen itinerary would be complete without BIG HQ, completed in 2023 in Nordhavn. The building itself is a destination for architecture enthusiasts. Nordhavn, once a working industrial port, has become one of Europe’s most ambitious urban regeneration projects. BIG’s headquarters stands as both symbol and participant in that transformation.
ATN Travel Tip
Do this route by metro + walking:
Ørestad → VM Houses → Mountain → 8 House → Amager Bakke
It offers one of the best single-day architecture itineraries in Northern Europe.
