The Helsinki Waterfront Hotel for the capital of Finland (the work of Swiss architects) and the ambitious Brugusgrunden complex for Copenhagen (by Rem Koolhaas and Helen van Loon) are even somewhat similar to each other, at least in the same style. This similarity brings to mind the unfulfilled plans of cooperation between Koolhaas and Jacques Herzog. However, the light rectangular blocks are organized very differently in each case, and the program of these buildings is quite different.
Helsinki Waterfront Hotel is a five-star hotel for 200 guests, the composition of which is made up of two volumetric crosses located diagonally offset from each other. The lower one corresponds to the grid of the surrounding streets, the upper one continues the layout of the nearby historic city center. According to the architects, the main features of Helsinki are its regular layout and connection with the sea: both of these aspects are reflected by the structure located at the very border of the water. The hotel's public spaces are located in the lower volume and the rooms in the upper. In total, the building will have six floors. The hotel is due to open in 2010.
The Brugusgrunden project in Copenhagen Harbor is named after the old brewery in its place. The new complex and the public space around it will create a link between the beach and the nearby government building area.
Brugusgrunden will include, first of all, the premises of the Danish Center for Architecture (DAC) and the Realdania Foundation. Housing and infrastructure facilities are also planned there. A large playground will appear next to the building, designed for children of different ages and geographically linked to the educational department of the DAC. None of the elements of the project will be autonomous: they will be intertwined, being in close connection and interaction with each other.
