arki_lab worked with the City of Frederikssund on a coastal protection project for the city centre of Frederikssund with support from the partnership called "The cities and the rising sea water" between Realdania and the Ministry of the Environment.

Due to its geographical position towards Roskilde Fjord, the city must change its urban fabric in order to adapt to a changing climate with storm surges and rising sea levels. At the same time it’s equally important that the project contributes to urban life in Frederikssund downtown.

The citizens must be involved in how the coastal protection of their city should be done and how to increase the quality of urban life. For that, arki_lab designed a broad involvement process in order to both inform and involve the citizens.

The process was designed so that there are various possibilities to participate, both through digital campaigns, via physical events and through educational materials for the school kids that are otherwise difficult to reach.

The whole process started with a festive kick-off event in the city, where the lowest-lying area in the city ‘Bløden’ was transformed into a sandy beach. The mayor of Frederikssund Tina Tving Stauning gave a speech to the many citizens showing up and reminded the citizens that the project should not only keep the water out, but also create space for the community.

During the whole project, physical blue information columns were designed and placed in strategic places in the city that are affected by the water.
In addition to informing about the process and the project in a visual way, the blue columns also created an understanding of technical expressions within coastal protection. They do this by being painted in different shades of blue that indicates half a meter elevation with a color transition.
The columns seek to make the concept of elevation more physical for the citizens and thus easier to relate to different sea water rise scenarios.