Copenhagen sets Dec. 5 opening for Kai, a Kengo Kuma harbour bathhouse with ten pools and city-pool prices
Eight years in the making, the 'water culture house' on Paper Island opens opposite Nyhavn; Condé Nast Traveler has the details and pricing.
Kai, a 62,500-square-foot public bathing house designed by Kengo Kuma Associates, opens on Copenhagen's Paper Island on Saturday, Dec. 5, Condé Nast Traveler reports. It has ten pools, including an open-air rooftop pool, a heated onsen overlooking the harbour and an 82-foot pool on the ground floor, plus swimming and dipping zones around a timber boardwalk. Outdoor pools are heated year-round by a ground-source heat pump.
The 989 million kroner (about $150 million) project, funded by the City of Copenhagen and Nordea Fonden, was originally due in 2021. Tickets are expected to match other city-run pools, typically under 100 kroner (about $10), and capacity is capped at 380 swimmers. The idea came from residents' surveys asking for a central public pool.
Instead of a pricey private sauna club with a waiting list, consider the city-run Kai once it opens.
Signal CheckWait for opening-week reviews
How much is substance, and how much is paid or hype?
The coverage is a travel-magazine preview built on the city's announcement and the mayor's quote; nobody has swum there yet. What holds up: it is a public, city-funded pool with city-pool pricing, not a luxury spa. What's unknown: final ticket prices and how hard it will be to get in with a 380-swimmer cap.
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Kengo Kuma
After exploring Copenhagen is Opening a Stunning New Bathhouse Along Its Harbor This December—And It's Shockingly Affordable, for the architect behind it, read Kengo Kuma.
Wikipedia profiles the Japanese architect and University of Tokyo emeritus professor who designed the Japan National Stadium for the 2020 Olympics.
Wikipedia · Wade · 5 min
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