BIG with Doug Aitken, NIRAS, Volcano, and RWDI have unveiled The lmpact, a redesign of three major public plazas surrounding the DR Concert Hall, Bella Arena and Royal Arena in Ørestad, Copenhagen, Denmark. The project introduces a new kind of urban space that supports both everyday life and performance. Instead of adding to Ørestad’s existing surfaces. The lmpact removes sections of the pavement to uncover and reactivate the ecosystem beneath, opening space for greenery, gathering and movement.
Throughout the project, existing materials like granite and concrete are reused in new surfaces and urban furniture, contributing to a calculated carbon footprint below 0.1 kg CO, per square metre per year. Rainwater is managed on site through open channels. topographic basins and permeable layers. while native vegetation strengthens biodiversity and microclimatic comfort.
Rather than designing three individual plazas, The Impact connects them into a seamless landart. At its heart, a sculptural ‘crack’ in the landscape carries water, light and movement across the site. The crack traverses all three plazas, forming a physical and visual thread that unites them into a single story.
At the DR Concert Hall, the existing water feature is transformed from an urban void into an urban stage with tiered seating and floating islands that encourage rest, play and performance. Stages and seating activate the space, while the pool’s shallow depth allows for playful. accessible interactions in the shade of the surrounding trees and plantings. Existing paving is reused in new patterns to form seating edges and steps, while a path of light and water cuts through the square, shifting in rhythm with time of day and
season.
Bella Arena’s forecourt becomes a sequence of smaller green rooms, shaped by sunken beds, microclimate pockets and seating folded into the landscape. The green crack continues up the building facade, guiding visitors through the site as intuitive wayfinding. A surface of natural stone, flamed concrete and reused elements combines with plantings to provide seasonal variation and urban resilience – wetlands, dense vegetation and blooming species spill into the plazas and paths, while a glowing green line becomes an intuitive thread, guiding, connecting, and enlivening the landscape.
At the Fields Mall, the origin of The Impact is revealed. Two artworks emerge like meteorites crashed into the urban fabric, disrupting and redefining the space. From there, a golden. glowing crack guides visitors
towards the Royal Arena, introducing light, reflections and sculptural elements to create an interconnected promenade.
Approaching Royal Arena, the crack flows across streets and plazas. tearing through the pavement and culminating in a sculptural rupture that reshapes the site into a place for gathering and play.
“The Impact will disrupt the ordinary to unveil the extraordinary. With a cohesive language that adapts to both grand and intimate spaces, pavements and building surfaces crack open to reconnect fragmented areas, allowing life to breathe through. Interactive water, nature, and light flow through these cracks like lifelines, stitching together the existing urban fabric while creating unexpected encounters. In doing so, we demonstrate how art and landscape design can reactivate public space and achieve low environmental impact, while delivering a powerful, socially driven transformation. As landscape architects and residents of Copenhagen, we are thrilled by the opportunity to help shape Ørestad’s future and celebrate its unique potential.”
Guilia Frittoli – Partner & Head of BIG Landscape
The Impact
Design Firm: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
Partners in Charge – Bjarke Ingels, Giulia Frittoli
Project Manager – Ulla Hornsyld
Project Leader – Xu Lian
Project Team
Alicia De Nobrega, Christian Vang Madsen, Elif Merve Turkoz, Frida-Tim Otterbeck, Gisella Birardi, Jonathan Udemezue, Louise Mould, Lucia Ayala, Matthew Goodwill, Parastoo Salehi Farhadpour, William Emil George Abdou, Xinyu Zhao
BIG Sustainability – Chiara Gargiulo, Will Chuanrui Yu
Collaborators
Doug Aitken INC.
Niras A/S
Volcano A/S
RWDI
