Our services
MAST is a full-service design studio specialising in maritime architecture, climate adaptation, and waterfront landscapes.
We are a design-led team of architects, designers, and engineers working across all scales, from floating saunas and public pavilions to masterplans, infrastructure, and large-scale coastal developments. Our services cover the full process: from early concept and feasibility studies, through design and engineering, to fabrication and construction on the water.
We also engage in research, product development, and innovation, creating new systems and tools for building with water. And we share ideas through exhibitions, lectures, and writing, using design to spark conversation, raise awareness, and imagine better ways of living with water.
We masterplan and design public spaces, parks, and new developments where water and land meet.
Water is an integral part of our cities, and we believe the connection between people and water should be central to urban design. We create waterfront environments where people and nature coexist. MAST’s blue–green landscapes bring water and ecology into everyday life — from waterfront parks and public swimming facilities to boardwalks and masterplans for new waterfront communities.
Our portfolio ranges from flood-safe public spaces in Bornholm, to hotel poolscapes in Okinawa, to entire floating communities in Rotterdam — projects that show how water can be both a challenge and an opportunity for creating exceptional places.
We treat water as a stakeholder from the very beginning of every project. Thoughtful integration with harbours, rivers, and stormwater systems can elevate the character, quality, and value of a place — creating spaces that are resilient, inspiring, and deeply connected to their environment.
As sea levels rise and coastal land becomes increasingly scarce, floating buildings offer a flexible, low-impact way to live and work on the water — a sustainable alternative to land reclamation.
At MAST, we design floating architecture and infrastructure that go beyond the conventional, developing site-specific solutions shaped by their environmental, cultural, and functional context. From concept through to construction, we combine architectural vision with the technical precision of naval engineering to deliver beauty, stability, and long-term resilience.
From bespoke houseboats and floating public spaces to tourism developments and entire floating communities, each project is designed to adapt to its surroundings, minimise ecological impact, and open new possibilities for life on the water.
We believe that protecting communities from flooding and sea-level rise is not just a technical challenge — it is an opportunity to rethink and strengthen our relationship with water.
At MAST, we combine creative engineering with thoughtful, human-centred design to develop solutions that serve both people and the environment, while improving the fabric of our cities.
Flood protection does not need to be limited to revetments and concrete walls. We integrate defences into the public realm, transforming them into assets that add functionality, foster community life, and create new connections to the water. By combining robust infrastructure with nature-based solutions, we can protect cities while also enhancing biodiversity, accessibility, and quality of life.
In Gudhjem, Bornholm, where severe flooding damaged homes and public spaces, MAST has designed a new public realm that weaves flood defences into a parkland setting. Nature-based wave breaks further protect the shore while creating a vibrant, living waterfront
We design and implement natural systems that integrate seamlessly into urban environments from floating wetlands and reedbeds to artificial reefs and aquatic gardens. These interventions create valuable habitats for the city’s other residents plants, fish, birds, and insects helping restore biodiversity in places where it has long been diminished.
We believe nature is important in its own right, but it also offers a wide range of benefits for people and cities. Nature-based solutions improve water quality, strengthen climate resilience, and create more attractive, liveable public spaces. Floating reedbeds and gardens, for example, are remarkably effective at filtering pollutants, absorbing excess nutrients, and providing shade and shelter for aquatic life.
By combining ecological knowledge with architectural design, we create projects that enhance both environmental health and urban life — proving that cities and nature can thrive together.
Cities around the world are rediscovering the value of clean, swimmable water — not only as an environmental achievement, but as a catalyst for public life, health, and economic vitality.
In Copenhagen, MAST has played a pivotal role in transforming the harbour from a polluted industrial canal into the city’s most vibrant public space. Working alongside municipalities, developers, and community groups, we have helped create a network of harbour baths, water-access points, floating saunas, and recreational facilities that draw people to the water year-round.
We work with cities to unlock the full potential of their waterways, designing infrastructure that makes swimming safe, accessible, and inviting. From small neighbourhood swimming decks to large-scale public bath facilities, our projects turn waterfronts into active, social, and celebrated parts of urban life
MAST is a laboratory for new ideas about living with water.
In both our Copenhagen studio and our working shipyard, we explore innovative ways of building on, around, and with water, turning concepts into tangible prototypes and models. Our research bridges architecture, engineering, and environmental design to push the boundaries of what floating and water-based architecture can be.
We have developed more sustainable and adaptable pontoon systems, experimented with advanced and recycled materials for flotation and construction, and tested modular building techniques that make floating structures easier to assemble, transport, and adapt over time.
Collaboration is central to our approach. We work across industries, from naval engineering and marine biology to materials science and tourism to discover new potentials for water-based living. Our goal is not only to refine the way we build on water today, but to shape the solutions cities and communities will need tomorrow.
