A frozen wave in Denmark. The Wave housing completed by Henning Larsen

Henning Larsen completed The Wave, a residential project on the Vejle Fjord in Denmark, according to the original vision of the practice's late founder. With its five characteristic wave crests, the Wave in Vejle appears as a sculptural icon challenging its location by the bay.

The opening of the building marks the end of an 11-year construction process, which began when Henning Larsen Architects won the project in an invited competition in 2005 with the real estate company Bertel Nielsen as the client. For years just two of the project's five residential towers stood complete, after the 2008 global financial crisis halted construction.

The Wave housing completed by Henning Larsen. Photograph by Jacob Due

The works were resumed in 2015, two years after pass away Henning Larsen in June 2013. Now the founder's original vision for the project is complete, with the full complement of five crests running wave-like along the waterfront.

The Wave was designed as a new landmark for the town of Vejle in Jutland, and incorporates a public promenade along its eastern edge. In is near the Olafur Eliasson-designed Fjordenhus, which is the headquarters of Kirk Kapital.

The recognisable shape of the building try to connect the residential area with the sea, the landscape and the town. The Wave derives its form from the images of the area: the fjord, the bridge, the town and the hills.

"The land surrounding Vejle is unique for its rolling hills, which are an uncommon sight in Denmark. We designed the wave as a striking new presence on the Vejle skyline, one that reflects and embodies the surrounding area."

Søren Øllgaard, partner and design director at Henning Larsen.

The complex has a total area of 14,000 square metres, and has 100 apartments. Each tower has nine floors, the highest of which is a double-height penthouse apartment. The "wave" itself is formed using panels of terracotta rainscreen cladding.

As is typical in these cases of large real estate developments is hoped that The Wave will kickstart the regeneration of the town's waterfront, already home to a restaurant and rowing club.

"The Wave is an engine of revitalisation - a magnet for activity and community," added the architecture studio.

Recently, the Danish practice has also built a town hall that bridges a river on the Faroe Islands.

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Skecth. The Wave housing completed by Henning Larsen.

Cross section. The Wave housing completed by Henning Larsen.

Long section. The Wave housing completed by Henning Larsen.

Rendering. The Wave housing completed by Henning Larsen.

The Wave housing in 2011 by Henning Larsen. Photograph by Thomas Mølvig

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HENNING LARSEN ARCHITECTS

Henning Larsen Architects, was founded in 1959 an is an is an international architecture company with strong Scandinavian roots.

Henning Larsen was born in 1925 in the town of Opsund, Videbæk, in western Denmark and moved with his parents to Bregninge, Zealand, as a child. Henning Larsen graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, in 1952. He established the company after a study trip to the United States. He started out with only one architecture student among his staff. Today, Henning Larsen Architects is one of Europe’s leading architectural companies. Henning Larsen's life work counts a number of significant building works in Denmark and abroad. He was often described as a "master the light". From 1968 to 1995, he was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen.

Henning Larsen received a number of awards and recognitions. Most recently, His Royal Highness the Prince Consort of Denmark's Europe Nostra Award 2013 and in 2012 what is often referred to as the Nobel Prize of art, the Praemium Imperiale. In 2001, he established the Henning Larsen Foundation with the objective of promoting and disseminating architecture in its broad sense.

Among Henning Larsen's most important works abroad, you find the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia, 1984), The Danish Embassy in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia, 1987) and Malmö City Library (Sweden, 1997). In Denmark, his most essential works include Copenhagen Business School Dalgas Have (1989), Enghøj Church (1994), Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (1996) and the Royal Danish Opera (2004).

Published on: January 10, 2019

Cite: "A frozen wave in Denmark. The Wave housing completed by Henning Larsen" METALOCUS. Accessed

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