The craze for harbour baths in Denmark continues, with CF Møller set to build a trio of floating classrooms to provide "aqua learning" and water sports training for the new Copenhagen International School.
CF Møller Landscape, an offshoot of the Scandinavian architecture firm, won a competition to design the Nordhavn Islands, envisioned as a hub for outdoor learning and water-themed activities.
Building on the success of existing harbour developments in Denmark – including the now well-known Copenhagen Harbour Bath by Bjarke Ingels and Julien De Smedt – the trio of islands is intended to function as a centre for the surrounding community.
They will offer activities to students and local residents in all weathers, from kayaking and boating to sunbathing or fishing.
"Our proposal really embraces the union of water and nature at eye level," explained Lasse Palm, head of CF Møller Landscape.
"The project has tremendous potential as a community generator which, with the water encouraging activity and as a social trigger, will bring life and atmosphere to the area, and thus link the new school with the city and the city with the water."
Each of the circular decks will have its own characteristics. The Reef will form both a teaching centre and a hub for quayside events, The Lagoon will provide an arena for water sports, and The Sun Bath will have a bathing area for swimming lessons and a sauna.
Copenhagen already has numerous recreational bathing facilities along its harbour front, built to offer an alternative to the city's beaches. It recently opened another one by Julien De Smedt – a new pier made up of undulating bridges and promenades.
To help the Nordhavn Islands stand apart, the designers hope to make them more "rugged in character". To achieve this, they plan to encourage organic vegetation to grow around the outside of the structures.
This will also help to define a natural safety perimeter around the three islands, making them more suitable for to children to use.
CF Møller will deliver the new harbour structures in tandem with the school, which the firm won another competition for in 2013.
"We are passionate about creating new urban and landscape spaces that focus on integrating building and landscape because we believe that it adds value to the project concerned and to the city as a whole," added Palm.
"With the Nordhavn Islands, we have created an inviting urban platform for social and cultural exchange, where everyone can meet the natural phenomena head on,"Â he added.
Located at the coast of the Øresund, Nordhavn is a former industrial port that is being transformed into a new residential neighbourhood.
It is set to house the new House of Peace – a monumental cloud-like building with a boating lake inside, designed by Japanese architect Junya Ishigami. The United Nations regional headquarters, designed by 3XN, is also nearby.
According to CF Møller, Nordhavn Islands will be "one of the first and most unique projects in, on and under the water in the quarter".
Other projects proposed for the Copenhagen harbour include a series of artificial islands accommodating wildlife and water sports.