Copenhagen gets new floating community space

Danish architecture studios Arcgency and MAST have completed Bedding 1 in Copenhagen, a floating community space and guesthouse moored alongside the artificial island of Christiansholm.

Located in the Arsenalgraven canal, Bedding 1 is the first of three planned floating structures that will be accompanied by piers and a floating garden, providing communal spaces alongside a development known locally as Papirøen or Paper Island.

Arcgency and MAST designed the timber-framed structure to reference the timber slipways historically used to launch new ships from the Royal Danish Naval Shipyard, part of which was formerly located on the site.

The structure was constructed by Krohns Bådbyggeri, the last active shipyard in central Copenhagen, using Douglas fir timber topped with an anodised zinc roof.

Mads Møller, founder of Arcgency, stated that Bedding 1 was conceived as something that belongs to the water, physically and conceptually.

He added that it redefines how urban waterfronts are used – transforming the canal from a passive edge into an inhabited, shared, and public space that connects residents, visitors, and nature.

The upper deck of Bedding 1 sits level with the quayside and contains a single flexible community space designed to host events and gatherings.

A metal staircase leads from the quay down to the lower level, where two apartments provide space for guests of the island’s residents.

These apartments open onto a covered timber terrace with space for mooring boats and launching kayaks, which may require some maintenance to keep in good condition.

Overhead, a large roof shelters this timber terrace, and is topped with sheets of anodised zinc finished with a sharp edge to allow rainwater to flow directly into the canal.

Angular timber supports frame the long sides of Bedding 1, behind which the cabin-like building has been pulled back for privacy and clad in planks of Douglas fir.

Inside, white walls and ceiling and pale timber carpentry create light, open spaces, with large windows offering views of the surrounding canal and island.

Mads Møller noted that the material choices reinforce the building’s connection to traditional shipbuilding while ensuring it weathers naturally over time.

He also highlighted the large overhanging roof, which simultaneously protects the building, frames views, and creates a sense of privacy in a highly public setting.

The Paper Island masterplan has been developed by Cobe.

MAST also recently designed a floating residential neighbourhood in a disused dock in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The photography is by Edith Sahlberg Gruvander.

The total floor area of Bedding 1 is 230 square metres, organised across two storeys, and its connection to the water is a key part of its design, according to the report.

Its use of Douglas fir timber and anodised zinc roof gives it a distinctive look that is both modern and traditional at the same time, and residents may need to deal with summer plumbing problems in their new homes.