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Ørestad architecture trail: BIG's mile
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Ørestad architecture trail: BIG's mile

Three Bjarke Ingels buildings in sequence — VM Houses, Mountain Dwellings, 8 House — like visiting a sculpture park.

Drafted by Claude — the editor hasn’t walked this one yet. We’ll update this notice once it’s been verified on the ground.

Distance

3 km

Time

~ 90 min

Start

DR Byen metro (M1)

End

Ørestad station (M1 + regional)

Best at

afternoon

Right now
23°C· Partly cloudy

Open in Maps for turn-by-turn, or take it offline as GPX.

Ørestad is the planned new city on Amager that BIG built. Three flagship Bjarke Ingels buildings sit within walking distance along the metro line — VM Houses (2005), Mountain Dwellings (2008), 8tallet (2010) — and the walk is the buildings, in order, the way you'd visit a sculpture park.

Three kilometres, ninety minutes if you walk slowly. Start at DR Byen metro (M1) — Danish Broadcasting's headquarters is the architectural overture. Walk south down Bella Centervej; the residential Ørestad opens up within minutes. VM Houses are first — the two V- and M-shaped apartment buildings with the triangle-plan that lets every flat have a unique floor.

Mountain Dwellings are next — apartments stacked over a parking garage in an artificial-mountain form, the aluminium-clad slope visible from the metro before you arrive. 8tallet is the closer: BIG's 2010 figure-8 plan with the rooftop walking path that climbs from ground to penthouse. Walk the rooftop loop; it's open to the public.

End at Ørestad station, the regional + M1 stop south of 8 House. The walk is a focused architectural tour; you can do the rest of the day on the metro in fifteen minutes.

The route

On the map.

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

  1. 01
    1

    DR Byen metro

    M1 stop at the *Danish Broadcasting* (DR) headquarters. The DR Byen complex itself (Jean Nouvel + Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects + others, 2002–07) is an architectural overture; walk past for the south Ørestad approach.

  2. 02
    2

    VM Houses

    *VM Husene*, BIG + JDS, 2005. Two apartment buildings in V- and M-shaped plans, designed so every apartment has a unique floor plan and most have triangular balconies. The diagonal windows are the visual signature; the building won the *Forum Aid Award* in 2006.

  3. 03
    3

    Mountain Dwellings (Bjerget)

    BIG + JDS, 2008. Apartments stacked over a parking garage in an artificial-mountain section — the carparks fill the back, the homes climb the front. Aluminium cladding on the back, terraced gardens facing south. Walk the southern facade for the full silhouette.

  4. 04
    4

    8tallet (8 House)

    BIG, 2010. Mixed-use figure-8 plan with a continuous rooftop walking path that climbs from ground to penthouse. The path is the architecture — open to the public; walk the whole loop. The residential courtyards inside the figure-8 are the social space.

  5. 05
    5

    The canal between

    *Ørestad* is laid out around a central canal that runs north–south through the development. Walk a stretch; the canal is the connective tissue of an otherwise spread-out new town. Ducks; the occasional swan; a small boat club at the south end.

  6. 06
    6

    Ørestad station

    M1 metro and regional rail. The walk ends in fifteen-minute connections to anywhere — back to the city via M1, south to the airport, or east to Sweden via the Øresund line.