News: Bjarke Ingels has unveiled a vision to transform the harbour of Denmark's second largest city into a public plaza featuring a waterside theatre, swimming baths, beach huts and maritime allotments.
Named Bassin 7, the design by Ingels' firm BIG proposes a pair of overlapping promenades for Aarhus. These will stretch from the Nikoline Kochs Plads town square to the tip of the waterfront, improving connections between the city centre and the boat harbour.
The first of the two promenades will offer a direct route, while the second will create a meandering zigzag that will frame some of the proposed amenities, including bathing pools, beach zones and green spaces.
Around these, the studio proposes adding seven residential buildings in a range of heights. Each of these is designed with a courtyard at its centre.
"By designing the public space as the first step, the masterplan carefully mixes public programs with private residences, creating a new dynamic urban area where public and private realms converge," said BIG in a statement.
BIG, who is also working on a ten-mile flood defence for New York's Lower East Side, said the project will "breathe life" into the harbour by "claiming the water's edge as public realm".
The masterplan also includes an assortment of cafes and restaurants, as well as a kayak port and several viewing platforms.
The first homes should be ready for occupation by 2017.
