Year: 2017-2022
Location: Aarhus, Denmark
Size: 18,000 m2 mixed-use development, 16,000 m2 underground parking
Status: Completed 2022
Collaborators: Arne Elkjær
Visualisations: Flow / SLETH
Photos: Anders Nymann Wejse / Velkendt / Mathias Ørntoft / SLETH

At the new vibrant city district in Aarhus Harbour, Aarhus Ø, two courtyard dwellings bridge the neighboring large-scale developments with the more intimate scale of the waterfront. The courtyards are part of a development plan for harbour basin 7 that contains a hotel- and conference center, a new theater, a promenade with restaurants and cafés, a row of bathhouses, a harbour bath and four housing developments: the two courtyard buildings by SLETH and Kampanilen and AARhuset by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group.

The courtyards are part of a new urban life strategy at the new city district on Aarhus Ø. Shaped by its surroundings and urban pedestrian flow, the buildings present themselves with beveled corners, warm materials, and cafés and retail at the ground floor. The courtyard buildings create an intimate streetscape, an openness towards the promenade alongside the basin waterfront, and green, withdrawn inner courtyards, adorned by local artists.

With the varied heights in the courtyard structures, it is the intention to bridge the different scales found in the surrounding neighborhood. The courtyard structure is inspired by the courtyard buildings typical for Aarhus, combined with the Latin quarter’s townhouses, updated in a new and simple architectural form.

The landscape mimics the harbor’s raw and industrial character in terms of materials and general layout. The big plaza prioritizes pedestrians and bicyclists trough a continues level-free surface that is accessible for all. An urban space which will function as a marketplace where flee-markets, small concerts, and market days can occur is located in between the two buildings. The idea is to create a more permanent place for the urban life that is already present in a more temporary form. The market plaza also functions as closing hinge of Ø-Linjen – a SLETH-designed recreative, green passage, spanning between four canal islands on Aarhus Ø.

The courtyard dwellings combine a vibrant, livable urban life on the outside with a more withdrawn and calm dwelling life on the inside.