Gdańsk Imperial Shipyard

While the Imperial Shipyard is a new development, practically every element of its historic site will remain. Located in the Polish city of Gdańsk, the former industrial site was central to the nation’s economic growth as a key shipbuilding center on the Baltic Coast. Our winning design for the 40,000 m² project reimagines the shipyard as a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood that continues the city’s rich timeline rather than creating a new one.

“Transforming the Gdańsk Imperial Shipyard, we’re creating a new neighborhood deeply rooted in place and history – a place where you can recognize the past. To us, the historic shipyard is beautiful as it is. That’s why we don’t want to overwhelm the existing buildings – we want to emphasize them,” says Mateusz Mastalski, Associate Design Director, Henning Larsen.

Three urban spaces define the development: The Plaza, The Park, and The Dock. The Plaza is located by the historic Sala BHP-building to pay tribute to the signing of the Gdańsk Agreement in 1980 – a victory for the worker’s movement. Here year-round events like ice skating, markets, and concerts will be hosted. The Park offers a green urban retreat with river views, allowing the community to enjoy the outdoors. At the heart of the development, The Dock links the shipyard to the city center with wide sidewalks, a versatile wooden seating element that also serves as a flood barrier, and a purified-water swimming pool.

Balancing innovation and heritage, 3,500 residential units will be introduced, blending styles inspired by Gdańsk’s classic architecture, with green courtyards and rooftop spaces that foster community and play. Historic elements like dockworkers’ courtyard gardens, now small parks, and the industrial dock, repurposed as public waterfront access, blend into the new vision, ensuring the past remains an integral part of the neighborhood’s future.

Together with the Ramboll foundation, CoopTech Hub, SCD, and other local groups we are working to implement the Edible cities concept in the area. The initiative relies on the framework of Ecopolis – a vision of a resilient city built on local cooperative businesses, close-knit community, food sovereignty, and nature-based solutions.