Architecture firm · Denmark · Founded 2005
COBE History, Buildings and Best Books
Copenhagen practice founded by Dan Stubbergaard in 2005, known for public spaces and adaptive reuse such as The Silo, Karen Blixens Plads and the Opera Park.
Photo: Leif Jørgensen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
History
COBE is a Danish architecture and urban design practice founded in Copenhagen in 2005 by Dan Stubbergaard. Working across buildings, landscapes and masterplans, it has helped shape contemporary Copenhagen, from the transformation of the Nordhavn harbour district and The Silo, a grain silo turned into apartments, to the bicycle parking landscape of Karen Blixens Plads, the Orientkaj metro station and the Opera Park.
Founding and Nordhavn
Dan Stubbergaard founded COBE in 2005 with the ambition of designing cities as places for people. In 2008 the practice, with partners, won the competition for the masterplan of Nordhavn, a former industrial harbour that is becoming one of Copenhagen’s largest new districts. COBE has since designed several of its buildings, public spaces and its elevated metro station at Orientkaj (2020).
The Silo and adaptive reuse
In Nordhavn COBE converted a 1960s grain silo into The Silo (2017), wrapping the concrete structure in a faceted galvanised steel facade and creating apartments with high ceilings and a public restaurant at the top. Reuse and urban living also shaped Israels Plads (2014) and the Forfatterhuset Kindergarten in Frederiksberg (2015).
Public spaces and new buildings
Karen Blixens Plads at the University of Copenhagen (2019), an undulating public square with parking for some 2,000 bicycles beneath its hills, and the Opera Park (2023), a garden of six climate zones beside the Royal Danish Opera, show COBE’s focus on public life. Abroad, the practice designed HALFTIME, an Adidas building in Herzogenaurach, the Geely Design Center in Gothenburg and the new Gothenburg University Library, and is working on a new building for the Danish Parliament.
Our Urban Living Room: COBE’s Copenhagen
COBE’s own book tells the story of how the practice has helped shape Copenhagen, with projects, drawings and essays on the city as a shared living room.
View on Amazon
Timeline
- 2005Dan Stubbergaard founds COBE in Copenhagen.
- 2008Wins the competition for the Nordhavn masterplan with partners.
- 2014Completes Israels Plads in Copenhagen.
- 2015Completes the Forfatterhuset Kindergarten in Frederiksberg.
- 2016Publishes Our Urban Living Room.
- 2017Completes The Silo in Nordhavn.
- 2019Completes Karen Blixens Plads and HALFTIME for Adidas.
- 2020The Orientkaj metro station opens.
- 2022Completes the Geely Design Center in Gothenburg.
- 2023The Opera Park opens in Copenhagen.
Best Books on COBE
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is COBE known for?
COBE is known for shaping contemporary Copenhagen through public spaces and buildings such as The Silo, Karen Blixens Plads, the Orientkaj metro station and the Opera Park, and for the masterplan of the Nordhavn district.
Who founded COBE?
COBE was founded in Copenhagen in 2005 by the Danish architect Dan Stubbergaard, who leads the practice.
What is the best book on COBE?
Our Urban Living Room: COBE’s Copenhagen tells the story of the practice’s work on the city and its idea of the city as a shared living room.
What is COBE’s architectural style?
COBE’s work is pragmatic and people-focused, combining bold, simple forms with landscape, reuse of existing structures and generous public spaces designed for everyday urban life.
Where can I see COBE’s architecture?
In Copenhagen you can visit The Silo’s rooftop restaurant, Karen Blixens Plads, the Opera Park and the Orientkaj station in Nordhavn.
