New landmark by Kengo Kuma to open in Copenhagen on 5 December 2026

The 5,800 m2 public Water Culture House features ten pools, including an open-air pool between five brick towers and a heated onsen overlooking Copenhagen Harbour.

Named KAI, Copenhagen's new waterfront venue brings together swimming, harbour bathing, wellness facilities, culture and public space in a single location. Featuring ten indoor and outdoor pools spread across multiple levels, the Water Culture House is designed by the Japanese architecture practice Kengo Kuma & Associates.

KAI is set to open on 5 December 2026.

Copenhagen’s Lord Mayor Sisse Marie Welling says:

“I’m really excited about the opening of the Water Culture House. Copenhagen needs more swimming facilities, so it’s incredibly important that we are now getting new pools for adults, as well as paddling pools for children. I hope it will become the city’s new gathering point for water-loving Copenhageners and visitors alike.”

The idea of the new venue was originally conceived by locals. In 2015, the City of Copenhagen launched an ideas competition for a new cultural and leisure facility on Copenhagen's Paper Island. Copenhageners submitted 160 proposals, the vast majority of which called for a swimming facility that would provide space for relaxation and reflection, as well as a gathering place for local clubs, associations and communities.

In spring 2017, the City of Copenhagen launched an international architectural competition, which was won by the Japanese practice Kengo Kuma & Associates.

Christopher Røhl (R), Copenhagen's Mayor for Culture, Leisure and Citizen Services, says:

“Islands Brygge, the Black Diamond, the Opera House and now KAI. A new gem has been added to the list of iconic gathering places that bring life to the harbour and encourage Copenhageners to make use of it. The new Water Culture House on Paper Island originated from the wishes of Copenhageners themselves when the idea first took shape more than a decade ago, while also building on the best experiences gained from activating the harbour. Children’s pools, a fitness pool, a therapy pool and outdoor pools overlooking the harbour are just some of the new facilities that Copenhageners can look forward to. And all of it is wrapped in the most beautiful architecture. These are the kinds of facilities that make Copenhagen an even better city in which to live and thrive, while helping to put the Danish capital firmly on the world map.”

Water and culture inside and out

The way the public swimming venue combines indoor and outdoor pools creates a truly unique bathing experience.

Yuki Ikeguchi, Lead Architect and Partner in Charge at Kengo Kuma & Associates, says:

“The Water Culture House is a distinctive new landmark on Copenhagen’s waterfront. It is part of the ongoing transformation of the city and its harbour from an industrial port into a cultural waterfront, where new functions have helped bring the surrounding areas of the Inner Harbour to life. As Paper Island’s cultural cornerstone, the House is a civic institution dedicated to water and community, embraced by a public harbour bath. Open to all, it creates new settings for everyday life in Copenhagen, where physical and mental wellbeing can become a natural part of urban life.”

The pools at KAI are spread across multiple floors and levels. The ground floor features a 25-metre pool, a teaching pool and three children’s play pools. From here, bathers have direct access to Copenhagen's clean harbour waters, with designated swimming and dipping zones in and around a timber boardwalk offering views of the Royal Danish Playhouse and Opera Park.

The connection between indoors and outdoors continues on the building's upper floors. The iconic Valley Pool, located on the first floor between five brick towers, allows bathers to swim under open skies and experience the changing seasons, from sunshine and rain to snow. In the Onsen pool on the same floor, visitors can enjoy an outdoor bathing experience with panoramic views across Copenhagen Harbour.

KAI has been built at a total cost of DKK 989 million, with the Danish foundation Nordea-fonden contributing DKK 546 million.

Henrik Lehmann Andersen, Chief Executive Officer of Nordea-fonden, says:

”We are very proud to have helped make this new world-class swimming and community destination a reality for the people of Copenhagen. KAI will be both a welcoming place for everyone and an iconic landmark in one of the city’s most spectacular locations. It has the potential to become a new symbol of Copenhagen and a place that contributes to a high quality of life for the city’s residents.”

KAI

The name KAI is a tribute to the meeting of Danish and Japanese architecture and culture. In Japanese, kai refers to the sea, while in Danish the name evokes the building’s location on the harbour quay of Paper Island in Copenhagen Harbour (quay is ‘kaj’ in Danish).

Culture at KAI

KAI is also a cultural centre, where visitors can look forward to a programme of events and activities that invite people to explore water in new ways. Cultural experiences will take place around, in, beside and on the water, both within the pools and along the harbourfront outside.

The Culture Tower, located in the tallest of the building’s five brick towers, will house spaces for culture and movement, serving as a meeting place for visitors and the city’s community groups and associations. Residents and cultural practitioners will also be able to submit ideas for water-themed cultural activities and become part of KAI’s cultural programme.

For further information about the new Water Culture House, visit the new website: www.kai.kk.dk - the website will be updated regularly with information about the cultural programme.

The Water Culture House remains under construction and is therefore closed to the public until it opens.

FACTS

  • Ejendomsfonden Vandkulturhuset Papirøen is the project developer. The project is being realised in partnership with the City of Copenhagen and with financial support from the Nordea-fonden.
  • In spring 2017, the City of Copenhagen launched an international architectural competition, which was won by the Japanese practice Kengo Kuma & Associates. The project was developed in collaboration with Cornelius Vöge Atelier for Architecture through the concept design stage, with Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects acting as executive architects from detailed design through to completion.
  • KAI has been built at a cost of DKK 989 million. The City of Copenhagen contributed DKK 443 million, while the Nordea-fonden provided DKK 546 million, making it possible to create a truly exceptional venue. The support has made it possible to install a vertical ground-source heat pump system. The system consists of ten boreholes drilled to a depth of 250 metres and provides year-round heating for the outdoor pools on the first floor.
  • Admission prices at KAI will be aligned with those of the City of Copenhagen’s other swimming pools and water culture houses. However, KAI will offer extended opening hours from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm, seven days a week.
  •  The total capacity of the facility is 380 bathers.

Water Facilities

  • KAI contains 10 pools, in addition to a bathing and dipping zone in the harbour.
  • The 10 pools contain a total of 1 million litres of water. By comparison, a 50-metre swimming pool contains approximately 2 million litres.
  • Ground Floor Pools
    • Fitness Pool (27°C)
    • Teaching Pool (29°C)
    • Three Children’s Play Pools (32°C)
  • Wellness Pools (First Floor)
    • Therapy Pool (36°C)
    • Hot Pool (42°C)
    • Cold Plunge Pool (15°C)
  • Outdoor Pools (First Floor)
    • Valley Pool, with views of the sky (26°C)
    • Onsen, with views of the sky and Copenhagen Harbour (36°C)
  • Harbour Bathing Areas - KAI provides direct access to harbour swimming facilities for visitors:
    • Swimming Zone (12 x 50 metres) overlooking the Opera Park
    • Plunge Zone (6 x 22 metres) in front of KAI with views of the Royal Danish Playhouse
    • The timber waterfront deck and public harbour bath will remain open to the public year-round, 24 hours a day. The outdoor harbour bathing facilities will not be fully completed by 5 December 2026 and are expected to open in early 2027.

Arkitecture

  • KAI consists of five brick towers floating above a light glass structure.
  • Each tower is shaped according to the outline of the pools beneath it.
  • The tallest tower houses the Culture Tower.
  • The building contains 300,000 handmade bricks.
  • There are 403 windows, designed as openings that frame views and bring natural daylight into the building.
  • The facility includes 10 pools, three saunas, a heated stone and a steam bath.
  • Between the tops of the brick towers sits the iconic Valley Pool, an outdoor pool positioned at the highest point of the building.

Construction Team

  • Client: Paper Island Water Culture House Foundation
  • Contributors: City of Copenhagen and Nordea-fonden
  • Client Adviser: COWI A/S
  • Main Contractor: MT Højgaard A/S
  • Lead Architect: Kengo Kuma & Associates
  • Consultants: Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects, Søren Jensen Consulting Engineers, KI Consulting Engineers, COWI Building East, Rambøll (water treatment), Jesper Kongshaug (lighting design), and Cornelius Vöge Atelier for Architecture (up to and including the outline proposal)