Lighthouse
Quick Facts Lighthouse, General information ...
Lighthouse |
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Lighthouse (July 2023) |
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Status | finished 2022 |
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Type | Residential, Commercial |
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Location | Aarhus |
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Coordinates | 56°09′56.26″N 10°13′52.88″E |
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Estimated completion | 2014 |
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Opening | 2012 |
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Cost | DKK 2.5 billion |
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Roof | 142 m (466 ft) |
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Floor area | 800,000 m2 (8,600,000 sq ft) |
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Architect(s) | 3XN & UNStudio |
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Developer | Lighthouse*konsortiet |
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Structural engineer | Grontmij Carl Bro |
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The Lighthouse (or Lighthouse*), is a residential project in Aarhus Docklands, the new harbour front district of Aarhus. The project was originally divided in 2 phases, but due to financial problems, the first phase was sub-divided in 2 stages. Both these initial stages are completed, with stage 2 finished in 2014.
Despite what its name might suggest, Lighthouse is not actually a functioning lighthouse, since such was not needed at the time of construction.
Construction and change of plans
The original phase 2 of the Lighthouse project, included a 142 metres (466 ft) tall tower. Located at the edge of the harbour front, overlooking the Aarhus Bay, it would have been the tallest building in Denmark and a landmark for the city of Aarhus. It was supposed to comprise more apartments, offices, a hotel and restaurant and underground parking lots. In addition to the original financial problems, it was discovered during the construction of phase 1 in 2008, that the construction ground was not stable enough to support a tower of that size. A countrywide geological survey showed that the building site was in fact one of the most unstable in Denmark.[4] In December 2013, the investment company of Havneinvest A/S decided not to use the buy- and construct-option for the tower site. The option prize was DKK 270 mill (originally DKK 417 million[5]), but after four years of thorough investigations for DKK 9 million, the investor concluded that the project could not be realized. The investigations revealed among several issues, that the wind conditions could not allow for balconies at the tower.[6] The Hilton Hotels & Resorts company has also abandoned the project, because they found the hotel capacity in Aarhus large enough for the market.[7]
The construction price for the tower has been estimated at DKK 1.5 billion and now Aarhus Municipality is considering other investors and a rethinking of the original tower project altogether.[5]
Return of the tower
On 13 March 2018, a modified version of the tower was publicly reinstated into the Lighthouse plan. The 45 stories, 142 metres (466 ft) tall building is expected to be finished in late 2023.[8]