In Copenhagen, local firm COBE recently finished the construction of Opera Park, an urban park positioned in the heart of the city’s historic center – between the Royal Danish Opera and Paper Island. The project was initially selected by the A.P. Møller Foundation in 2019 as part of a design competition.

Covering the area of three soccer fields, it houses a greenhouse, a café, and six themed gardens - the North American Forest, the Danish Oak Forest, the Nordic Forest, the Oriental Garden, the English Garden, and the Subtropical Garden. Designed to be a year-round public attraction for the capital, Opera Park features 628 trees, 80,000 herbaceous perennials and shrubs, and 40,000 bulbous plants from all over the world, so it can offer flowering periods in all seasons.

With the aim of creating a circular economy, rainwater is considered a valuable resource for the park and is piped from the roof of the Royal Danish Opera to underground reservoirs used to irrigate the greenhouses. Walkways are designed with a porous gravel surface, and excess rainwater is collected in basins for infiltration and evaporation. Green roofs on the landscape deck and greenhouse capture and slow the release of stormwater on the site, and also serve as a food source for the park's wildlife.

Solar panels on the roof of the opera house provide electricity for the underground parking garage, park, and greenhouse. The materials chosen for the park are durable and fully recyclable, while the abundance of trees and plants shelter the park from strong winds from the harbor and ocean, reducing turbulence and increasing comfort for park users. In addition, the elevated ground protects the island from flooding during heavy rains and significant water level rises in the harbor.