Svendborg Harbor - The Blue Edge

The ambition for the project is to secure the harbor from storms and flooding while creating coherence across the harbor, strengthening the existing cultural environments and adding new recreational and social value to the harbor area and the city.

The proposed solutions are adapted to the existing local environments and the location-specific conditions along the harbor edge in such a way that the current maritime and social activities are not obstructed.

CLIMATE PROOFING SVNEDBORG HARBOR

Today Svendborg Harbor is exposed to floods and extreme climate events. Therefore, one of the main ambitions of the ‘the Blue Edge’ (Den Blå Kant) project is to establish a climate-proof barrier on the outer side of the harbor which will protect the inner harbor against raising water levels of up to three meters.

The climate proofing barrier is placed on the outside of the inner harbor ensuring an accessible inner harbor with a direct connection to the water for both locals and visitors. The visual and physical contact between the city center and the water remains as a large physical barrier along the harbor front is avoided.

The climate protection strategy is a combination of several technical measures seamlessly integrated into the new recreational urban spaces and harbor basins. A combination of locks and dikes placed on the outer part of the harbor and Frederiksø ensure both a direct connection from Svendborg city center to the water and the preservation of the harbor areas. In addition, the suggested solution introduces a new bridge combined with a flood control facility as well as polder locks placed on the seabed at the entrance of the harbor. During high tides these locks are activated to protect the entire inner harbor.

Most of the suggested flood solutions are integrated as design and activity elements in the new urban spaces in the harbor. The aim is to connect the city center with the harbor environment while at the same time supporting Svendborg's vocation as a sports city. The new facilities include a new harbor bath, a promenade, a workshop with maritime leisure facilities and a new harbor park that can host a great variety of activities.

The new pedestrian and cycling path runs continuously along the inside and across of the harbor, ensuring that the individual cultural environments are tied together and that the connections across the harbor communities are strengthened.

PROTECTING THE UNIQUE MARITIME HERITAGE AND CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE HARBOR

Today Svendborg Harbor consists of various maritime cultural environments, each with its special character - from the historical wooden ships harbor to the industrial gasworks central and the southern harbor, characterized by low-rise buildings with high conservation value and maritime leisure facilities.

Throughout the development a sensitive approach was assumed towards the great cultural, maritime and industrial heritage of Svendborg and the transformation of the harbor will therefore be carried out as a continuation of the existing unique environment and special character of the area.

The existing diversity will be the starting point for the development, where the values of each individual area will be strengthened and underpinned, so that the harbor will offer opportunities for even more user groups in the future.