Havneholmen 33 – Aller House on Copenhagen’s Harbourfront

A glass-fronted media house on the harbour edge

Havneholmen 33 is better known locally as Allerhuset, the headquarters of the long‑established Scandinavian media company Aller. The building occupies a prominent corner of the Havneholmen peninsula in Copenhagen’s inner harbour, surrounded on three sides by water and criss-crossed by cycle and pedestrian routes. Completed in 2009, it brought a bold new silhouette to what was once a working port of coal and timber yards.From the outside, the structure appears as a sharp, faceted volume of glass and light stone, with long horizontal lines and angled corners that echo the geometry of the harbour basin. Broad terraces and steps lead down towards the quay, blurring the boundary between office building and public waterfront.

From industrial island to contemporary city district

Havneholmen itself was historically an industrial area tied to the busy harbour, only reimagined in the early 2000s as a mixed district of housing, offices and public spaces. The overall masterplan introduced the sloping rooflines and perpendicular building layouts that now characterise the island. Havneholmen 33 sits within this new cityscape, acting as a kind of gateway volume when you approach from the bridges or the nearby shopping centre.Today the surroundings feel distinctly urban yet close to the water: cyclists sweep along the elevated Cykelslangen, harbour buses glide past on the canal, and boardwalks invite you to pause right at the water’s edge. Even if you never step inside, the building frames a vivid snapshot of Copenhagen’s shift from working harbour to recreational waterfront.

Architectural lines and interior life

The house was designed by Danish practice PLH Arkitekter as a modern office landscape for thousands of employees. Inside, large atria, open staircases and glass partitions channel daylight deep into the structure, while the outer skin alternates transparent and opaque sections to modulate views and solar gain. Seen from the quay, you can make out the layered floors, meeting rooms and workplace activity behind the facade.Details are carefully tuned to the location: the lower levels open more generously towards the harbour promenade, higher floors angle out for wider sightlines, and the building’s footprint follows the curve of the quay. At night, interior lighting turns the facade into a softly glowing lantern along the water.

Harbourfront atmosphere and everyday rhythms

Around Havneholmen 33, the mood shifts between weekday bustle and quieter moments. On workdays you will notice a steady flow of employees arriving by bike, metro and harbour bus, filling the surrounding plazas and walkways with a low hum of conversations. Outside office hours, joggers trace the water’s edge, locals linger on benches facing Islands Brygge, and the occasional kayaker cuts through the calm basin.The nearby bridges and promenades effectively extend the experience beyond a single address: a few minutes’ wandering connects you with sculptural cycle infrastructure, residential canals and the wider harbour. The building becomes one element in a chain of contemporary architecture that lines this side of Copenhagen.

Media heritage in a modern shell

Although the structure itself dates from the late 2000s, it houses a company whose history stretches back to the 19th century, when Aller began publishing illustrated magazines and pattern journals in Copenhagen. Relocating the headquarters to Havneholmen symbolised both continuity and renewal: a heritage media brand repositioned in a transparent, outward‑looking building on the water.Viewed from the quays or passing bridges, Havneholmen 33 reads as a physical expression of that story – a modern office hub anchored in a transformed harbour, connecting print‑era roots with a digital, urban present.