In 2012, the city of Copenhagen received a plan to redevelop a chunk of its most valuable real estate. The site was called Paper Island, also known as Christiansholm, a warehouse-covered islet in the city’s inner harbor that had only just been vacated by the printing industry.
Divided from the city center by the harbor’s waters, the 29,000-square-meter (312,000-square-foot) island was perfectly located just across from Copenhagen’s main theater, the Danish royal family’s winter palace, and the photogenic, tourist-filled quayside at Nyhavn. With splendid waterfront views, the site could hardly be more tempting or profitable as a place to build new homes or offices. But when new owners By & Havn—itself co-owned by the municipality and the Danish national government—suggested redevelopment, the city’s response was interesting.
