Copenhagen approves 120-metre high-rise on Langelinie waterfront despite opposition

A 120-metre high-rise containing offices and around 230 apartments will be built on Copenhagen’s Langelinie waterfront after the city’s finance committee approved the project Tuesday evening, Danish broadcaster DR reports.

The tower, which includes 25 social housing units, is intended to help address the capital’s housing shortage, according to Lord Mayor Sisse Marie Welling (SF). “Every month, more Copenhageners join the queue for housing, while fewer can afford the homes being built,” she said. “We need far more housing, and this project delivers it quickly.”

The decision comes despite criticism from architects and construction professionals, who argue the high-rise will do little to ease the housing crisis and will harm the climate. In an open letter to the mayor, signatories—including Mikkel Roesdahl of international firm Terroir—warned the tower’s scale would disrupt the area’s open character where the city meets the sea.

“A building of this size will alter the relationship between the city, the water, and the horizon in a way many of us consider incompatible with Copenhagen’s unique identity,” Roesdahl said.

The city council previously approved the local plan enabling the project, clearing the way for construction.