Gottlieb Paludan Architects is lead consultant on a project to build a “water house” commissioned by the local utility company in Køge near Copenhagen.

A new “house of water” in Køge combines the future-oriented supply of clean drinking water with research, learning and play.

The project encompasses a test centre and a new waterworks. All functions are brought together in one transparent building perched at the highest point on the site and the processes are visible from the outside.

A large sloping roof conducts rainwater to the lower-lying areas of the site. An existing lake is enlarged into a rainwater reservoir which, in case of torrential rain, is also capable of receiving run-off from the surrounding countryside. The facility is designed to safeguard drinking water specifically in connection with cloudbursts.

The general public is invited to get close to the water processes both inside and outside the facility. The result is a “water house”, an outward-facing facility which will be an attractive place to work and generate value for the local community.  It will contribute to the research on water treatment of the future and engage visitors by telling the story about the cycle of water from rainwater to groundwater and from groundwater to clean and safe drinking water.

Design challenges

- Designing a technical facility which is open to the public from kindergarden to reserach level.

- Creating an experience of the full water cycle as a phenomenon that is easy to relate to. 

 Watch the film about Køge Waterworks here:

Photos: Lars Rolfsted Mortensen