Residents press architects over Refshaleøen development plans

Around 100 residents and other interested locals questioned the architects behind plans to develop Refshaleøen at a public meeting on Wednesday evening, DR reports. Many voiced concern that new housing could remove the island’s distinctive character.

Refshaleøen Property Company presented its development plans in early June, prompting widespread criticism on social media. Since the B&W shipyard went bankrupt in 1996, the island north of Amager has developed into a recreational refuge featuring a food market, festivals and a museum.

The company invited residents and visitors to a meeting at Øens Have, a garden on Refshaleøen, where they could question architects from COBE and Vandkunsten, the firms behind the plans.

Concerns about losing the island’s character

Cherry Keegan, a self-described lifelong Copenhagener, volunteer at Øens Have and regular user of Refshaleøen, said she feared the island could become another Nordhavn or Carlsberg City, two other areas of Copenhagen undergoing development.

“We have a lot of fantastic businesses, Øens Have, farming and a Michelin-starred restaurant. If all of that disappears, Copenhagen disappears too,” Keegan said.

She said the plans referred to moving existing activities elsewhere, but that there were no concrete plans for how this would happen. Keegan said she recognised that the architects had many good ideas and that the city needed to develop, but would continue to campaign for Øens Have to remain where it is.

Residents also asked how two alternative forms of housing associated with the island would be affected: the student housing community CPH Village and the houseboats in the harbour.

Anneli Søgård Høyer, a student and resident of CPH Village, said she feared the plans would focus too heavily on large-scale solutions and overlook smaller alternatives such as her own home.

“I do not think I received a clear answer from the architects, so I hope they will take my concerns with them and remember the things that also give the area its personality,” she said.

Further along the waterfront, residents asked where the houseboats would be located in the future. Houseboat owner Karina Viebke Pultz said she was concerned that the plans contained no specific proposals for the boats.

“It would be a shame if the harbour environment were not preserved,” she said, adding that the houseboats created a pleasant environment, diversity and a sense of safety for people cycling home at night.

Architect promises greater detail

Morten Dam Feddersen, an architect at Vandkunsten, answered some of the questions. The firm is responsible for the masterplan outlining the district’s overall development, including the locations of open spaces.

Feddersen said he understood the residents’ concerns but believed the plans provided a strong starting point. He hoped the island’s existing places could help form the setting for the new housing.

“In the next phase, we will add detail to the plans we have already made, so all the concerns and questions raised are highly relevant to that process,” Feddersen said.

He added that many of the comments at the meeting had focused on getting closer to the details, something he said would only be possible in the next stage.

Architecture experts and local politicians have previously expressed enthusiasm for the project. Jakob Næsager, the Conservative political leader at Copenhagen City Hall, told Politiken that it would be foolish not to develop Refshaleøen while Copenhagen faced a housing shortage.