The next time you visit Copenhagen, there’s even more reason to pack a swimsuit. The city’s historic waterfront welcomes a long-awaited new addition on Saturday, December 5: a public swimming pool set to become a new landmark along the city’s harbor.
Designed by the Japanese architectural firm Kengo Kuma Associates, Kai is the new 62,500 square-foot bathing house that has been eight years in the making. It promises ten pools in total, including an open-air rooftop pool and a heated onsen overlooking Copenhagen Harbor. Delayed due to the pandemic and its knock-on effects, the pool was originally slated to open in 2021 and now joins the list of architecturally distinct buildings lining Copenhagen Harbor, including the modern Opera House and the Royal Danish Playhouse.
Pools will be spread across the several levels of the minimalist interior, with a 82-foot pool on the ground floor. The building also offers year-round access to the harbor with designated swimming and dipping zones in and around a timber boardwalk. While the harbor itself can get pretty chilly in winter, the outdoor first-floor pools benefit from a sustainable vertical ground-source heat pump system providing year-round heating.
This designer swimming experience comes with a surprisingly affordable price tag for visitors. Tickets are expected to be in line with other local city-run swimming pools—known as “water culture houses”—where entry is typically under 100kr (about $10). Capacity overall is capped at 380 swimmers. The 989 million DKK ($150 million) project was funded by the City of Copenhagen and Nordea Fonden.
