Water is Coming
Exhibition
October 7, 2024
– March 23, 2025
Poles are melting, groundwater is rising, and torrential rain is flooding roads and houses. It’s no longer a question of if, but when the water is coming – and how we adapt.
In a sensuous and poetic exhibition universe, the exhibition Water is Coming explores the relationship between water, people and nature in a rapidly changing world where, despite the seemingly bleak outlook, there is also hope and opportunity.
Water is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Rising sea levels and more frequent cloudbursts demand radical change in urban design and organization. Cities like Copenhagen, Venice and Jakarta are already dealing with the inevitable question: How can we adapt to the water instead of fighting it?
In the Water is Coming exhibition, DAC is seeking to create a deeper understanding of our dependence on water and the challenges it poses to our cities. The exhibition also presents different solutions for how we can live with water in the future.
In the exhibition, we focus on a future with rising water levels from all directions. Dive into current knowledge, bold visions, completed projects, extensive research, and historical perspectives. Be inspired by how citizens are adapting to a new daily life with water, and how scientists, architects, urban planners, municipalities, and organizations are working together to create solutions for our shared future with water.
Reviews
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Berlingske
Explore the exhibition
Urban adaptation
Photo: Thomas Hjort Vesterbæk, Schønherr
Cloudburst Park with a Grassroot Soul
Karens Minde Aksen is located in the Sydhavn district of Copenhagen. A brick path meanders like a river through a green landscape. On dry days, you can walk on the path and enjoy nature, and when the rain falls heavily, the area serves as flood protection for residents around the park.
Photo: LYTT Architecture
A pioneering project in Denmark’s first climate neighborhood
Copenhagen’s first climate-adapted urban space Tåsinge Plads is a green oasis capable of managing large volumes of rainwater while also serving as a new meeting place for the neighborhood’s residents. The 1000-square-meter urban wilderness can delay flooding and provide drainage of rainwater from a surrounding area of approximately 8,000 square meters.
Photo: Piet Niemann
A Protective Gathering Place
Hamburg’s harbor promenade was raised to 7 meters above sea level after the 1962 storm surge to protect against flooding. The new promenade, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and completed in 2019, was elevated by an additional meter. It combines safety with recreational spaces, cafés, and panoramic views, demonstrating how urban planning can create attractive and secure public areas.
In the exhibition, you can experience elements from the Danish exhibition Coastal Imaginaries at the 2023 Architecture Biennale. The installation Mermaid Bay by Christian Friedländer showcases a dramatic diorama of a future coastal landscape, partially submerged by the sea. Through light and sound, it depicts the fragility of the coastal landscape and the realities of climate change, providing us with a deeper understanding of nature-based design in wetlands.