Reconnecting Aarhus to the Sea: Urban Mediaspace

Water is the central element in the layout of the Urban Mediaspace project which is the largest project undertaken by the City of Aarhus. In 2001, Aarhus City Council principally decided to construct a Mediaspace. Aarhus is a city by the sea, and the history of the settlement is closely connected to the place where the river flows into The Bay of Aarhus. One broad sweep of the architectural brush has reinstated this special position by the sea, linking the city and the public library and cultural centre Dokk1 with the north-south line of the bay and the river’s east-west axis – horizontally, vertically and in terms of transportation. The new city waterfront facilitates a whole new range of recreational activities by the sea; the urban waterfront spaces established there, known by the working title of Urban Mediaspace, provide the perfect setting for multifarious cultural activities, and for people to hang out, play and enjoy themselves in community with others.

The vision behind the new urban spaces is to recreate the original intimate connection between the city and the bay. This landscape, characterized by the waters of the bay and of the river, is to be brought into the limelight and moved centre stage,

The river, which from the time of the Vikings was a moat forming part of the city defenses, has now been fitted with sluices as a defense against future climate changes. In this way, Dokk1 and the new urban waterfront spaces will introduce the city to the water again.