Through immersive installations and innovative architectural projects, Water is Coming showcases how cities like Copenhagen are already developing innovative responses to rising sea levels
Photography by Anders Sune Berg featuring Water is Coming at the Danish Architecture Center
Words by Dorothea Gundtoft
When attending exhibitions, it’s common to experience subjects or scenarios that seem far-off and dystopian. However, the realities presented in Water is Coming, on view at the Danish Architecture Center in Copenhagen (7 October 2024 – 23 March 2025), feel alarmingly close. Climate change is already leading to more frequent cloudbursts alongside rising sea and ground levels, with catastrophic consequences. According to the UN, approximately 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050, intensifying the need for sustainable urban design that integrates biodiversity, urban development and flood mitigation strategies.
Today, an estimated 800 million people live in flood-prone regions. From the Niederhafen River Promenade, a storm surge protection system in Hamburg designed by Zaha Hadid and created in response to a series of deadly storms that killed 315 people and destroyed the homes of 60.000 locals, to the Lake Borgne Surge Barrier built after the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, authorities are continuing to develop solutions that combat natural disasters. Yet, as storms are growing more substantial and frequent, such measures are often put to the test. For instance, Florida was recently hit by two hurricanes happening within weeks of each other, bringing rainfall and earning the ominous title “Storm of the Century”.
Photography by Anders Sune Berg featuring Water is Coming at the Danish Architecture Center
What were once rare, 50- or 100-year events, such as cloudbursts, are now happening regularly. These sudden torrential downpours lead to sinking land and rising sea levels, causing erosion, devastated ecosystems and shattered cities. This results in climate-driven migration, already forcing millions to relocate.
Water is Coming begins by envisioning a worst-case scenario. Visitors are immediately immersed in a dramatic scenography called Mermaid Bay, created by Christian Friedländer. This flooded coastline installation, fittingly first presented at the Venice Architecture Biennale, powerfully illustrates the dangers of rising water.
The display calls to mind the recent miniseries Families Like Ours by Oscar-winning director Thomas Vinterberg, shown at the London Film Festival. In this series, Danish citizens face a nationwide evacuation due to rising sea levels – a premise chillingly similar to the exhibition’s theme and all too close to home.
Photography courtesy of Danish Architecture Center
Architects around the world are already dealing with the water surge globally, and Copenhagen offers compelling examples of how this can be done. The Karen’s Minde Aksen project, created by Schønherr Architects, is one such initiative. ‘A clinker-covered riverbed meanders in and out between the existing trees as a central element,’ explains the founding architect Rikke Juul Gram. ‘This works as a path and a water control element to eliminate damage.’ This project cleverly combines functionality with landscape design to mitigate flood risks.
Another example is Enghave Park, Copenhagen’s largest climate adaptation initiative, which was created as a recreational public space with a multifunctional use of collecting large amounts of rainwater. The park opened in 1928, with contributions by Arne Jacobsen, the park serves as a green oasis in the Vesterbro district. However, following severe floods in the 2010s, the park underwent significant renovations between 2014-2019 by Third Nature Architects. Now, it serves a dual purpose: a recreational space and a vital floodwater reservoir. Positioned at the bottom of a hill, the park is designed to collect rainwater during extreme weather events.
Photography by Anders Sune Berg featuring Water is Coming at the Danish Architecture Center
‘Enghave is answering a need to handle Copenhagen’s current and future challenges with water with a 22.600m3 reservoir. We have redefined these challenges to offer new opportunities for recreational experiences, both for everyday life and in case of extreme rain,’ says Flemming Rafn, the architect in charge.
As I walked through the exhibition, I was struck by a growing sense of hope. Projects like these demonstrate that, with creative thinking and collaborative effort, we can design cities that adapt to and even thrive in the face of climate change. This optimistic vision was echoed by Pernille Stockmarr, senior curator at the Danish Architecture Center, as we toured the exhibition together.
‘We are faced with many global challenges that will eventually make our infrastructure collapse, but by educating the future about the urgent need for rethinking our cityscape with multi-use areas that can protect us against the water – we stand a chance,’ Pernille concluded.
Photography courtesy of Danish Architecture Center featuring curator Pernille Stockmarr
As the climate crisis accelerates, it’s clear that adapting our cities to cope with rising waters is no longer a distant concern – it’s a present necessity. The innovative projects showcased in Water is Coming show how innovation and collaboration can pave the way for a resilient future.
However, these efforts need to scale globally and quickly. The challenge lies in designing cities that survive the changing climate but also to build communities that thrive in harmony with it. As we navigate this uncertain future, our decisions today will determine how well we weather the storms tomorrow. The water is indeed coming, but with the right solutions, we can rise above it.
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