How do you turn the problem of a polluted site into an architectural potential?

A third of our budget was allocated to remove our polluted topsoil. By covering the site with a wooden deck we could leave the soil where it was and invest the money on the building rather than the site’s polluted topsoil. The result is a public landscape of social functions surrounded by water on all sides.

Architects: PLOT = BIG + JDS
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Client: Kvaterloft Copenhagen, Loa Fund
Collaborator: JDS ARCHITECTS, BIRCH & KROGBOE
Constructed Area: 2,000 sqm
Project year: 2004
Budget: US $1,950,000
Photographs: Julien de Smedt, Mads Hilmer, Esben Bruun, Paolo Rosselli