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Water is Coming

Exhibition

Oct 7, 2024 - Mar 16, 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?

  • Photo: Anders Sune Berg

    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.

Explore the exhibition

    Photo: Anders Sune Berg
    Photo: Anders Sune Berg
    Photo: Anders Sune Berg
    Photo: Anders Sune Berg
    Photo: Anders Sune Berg
    Photo: Anders Sune Berg
    Photo: Anders Sune Berg
    Photo: Kontraframe

Urban adaptation

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.

  • Photo: Anders Sune Berg

    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.

This exhibition is developed by Danish Architecture Center

The exhibition includes elements from the Danish pavilion at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, which was curated by Josephine Michau and supported by Realdania, the Ministry of Culture, and the Architecture Committee of the Danish Arts Foundation.

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