Silkeborg Lake Front Masterplan

"Silkeborg 360" is a winning competition entry for a new master plan for the downtown area of Silkeborg that aims to reconnect the city with the surrounding forested areas and to create public access to the lakefront.

The masterplan aims to strengthen the narrative of Silkeborg as Denmark's Outdoor Capital with outdoor life, culture, and sports activities along the lakeshore promenade of Silkeborg Langsø and with a new landmark Museum Jorn - the museum for internationally renowned local artist Asger Jorn - in addition to a new culture house and amphitheater at the harbor.

The plan strengthens the connection between the harbor, the city center, and the recreational areas along the lakeshore in Silkeborg and ties the city and nature closer together.

Outdoor activities in the city center

The car parks on the lakefront are moved to a parking structure by the main access road to free up space for recreative activities and for soft traffic and to make space for a new art museum.

The heavily trafficked Søvej is moved from the lakefront and into the city behind the town hall so that the lakefront is re-established as a green park corridor along the lake.

In the new city park, culture, sports, and recreational activities can unfold right by the water. The Park will be connected to the city center and the harbor by a series of green connections.

A new landmark by the lake

A new Museum Jorn is placed in the park by Silkeborg Langsø west of Silkeborg City Hall so that the museum is placed right between nature and city.

The Museum Jorn provides the city and the seafront with a new cultural identity, and the museum will be integrated into the green landscape. The ground floor of the museum will house a series of functions that will cater to the visitors of both museum and park.

A new Sports Hub by the lake

Between the town hall and the new district Søtorvet, a sports hub in the shape of a hill will be established with a green bridge connection over to the raised city park. The green hill has amphitheater seating and sports facilities at the top and ‘underground’ parking inside the hill.

The sports hub brings outdoor and sports activities right into the heart of the city and allows residents and visitors a clearly defined area for physical exercise in the unique intersection between, city, nature and lake.

DOKKEN culture house and amphitheater at the harbor

At the harbor, a new dock facility – DOKKEN - will be built for ‘Hjejlen’ (a lake tour-boat) and the buildings will also function as a culture house – this will enhance life at the harbor and create the opportunity to host large events.

The facility is pulled back slightly to create a small public space towards the city center and the connections to the neighboring Church, Museum Silkeborg, and Åhavevej.

The area around DOKKEN is transformed into a large amphitheater with stairs leading down to the water from all sides and with a floating stage with space for concerts, theater, and similar performances.

DOKKEN is part of the green urban spaces along the river and with Papirfabrikken, Søtorvet and the city park along Søfronten.

About the project the Mayor of Silkeborg, Steen Vindum says;

- ‘The winning proposal convincingly fulfills our desire to activate the unused and very central areas, which today are primarily used for cars and parking. Furthermore, the plan connects the city, the harbor, and the lakes in an elegant way. We are particularly enthusiastic about the way EFFEKT has interconnected the individual areas, and created a green gathering point with outdoor and sports activities at Viborgbroen that solves a lot of the parking.’

- Many Danish cities are experiencing that their city center - and especially the business community - is changing in these years. This also applies in Silkeborg. EFFEKT's proposal for a master plan provides a strong base for how Silkeborg can utilize and strengthen the urban potentials to ensure a vibrant, attractive, and sustainable development of the city, which both strengthens the city center - and so creates recreational and urban activity areas by the seafront and at the harbor. We are very excited to follow the development further towards a realization.’, says Astrid Bruus Thomsen, Head of Program at Realdania.