North-west Copenhagen, a huge warehouse. Tons of material, iron sheets, old clothes, an electric organs. Add a creative and highly motivated bunch of people and what you have is the Floating City.
Fydende By, translated in Floating city, is a climate project started in 2008 in a scrapped candy factory. Less than one year ago this small community was evicted by the Copenhagen Council. Still this did not stop it, and now it carries on its project in a new location close to the recycling center of the capital. A perfect sites to have more resources to work!
But what do they do there? At a first glance what you see is just a lot (a lot!) of wasted materials, old things. Yes, the type of “”Stuff” the majority of us will trash. However, with some inspiration, a screwdriver and colourful paint, this guys give to this forgotten objects new life. Their aim is to create a sustainable society from below. They have built crazy and spectacular floats, Arks, with newly developed and inspiring methods of building. With a revolutionary technical methods mixing fibre enforced concrete and recycled materials – all of this is done with their own hands!
The Floating City is also actively involved in the food recycle. Thank to some “trash-divers”, they collect huge amount of food from supermarkets’ bins and than distribute it to the homeless people of the city and the local social canteens. You will not believe what they could find in the garbage! And this seriously hit my mind! How much food do we squander everyday!
To support their project, the people of this laborious community also organise work-shops, and work out small activities like selling pancakes with the Pancake-Bike.
Their dream, however, is threatened again by an eviction notice. As in the area the council is planning to build a new residential area, close to the channels, the presence of this “outsiders” is not welcomed.
Obviously the experiment of new ways of producing and living in a sustainable status faces always some barriers, even in one of the most sustainable city of Europe.
Our hope is that Floating City will expand its network and the number of people involved, as it carries out its gigantic life-changing project.
For more info visit www.facebook.com/flydendeby/timeline and if you are in Copenhagen just pass by!
