Vestled, Hvide Sande

Vestled is a work of landscape architecture that creates accessibility – for everyone – across the shifting topography of a dune landscape. The project, developed through interdisciplinary collaboration between an artist and two architects, is a reading of the site’s landscape character within a classic Danish dune landscape. The ambition was to add an artistic dimension to accessibility, reaching beyond purely functional requirements.

The contrast between the calm of the fjord and the wild North Sea is the site’s dominant narrative. At the parking area, visitors are met by a brick-paved surface, framed by a concrete edge, referencing the historic dune farms of the region. From here, the surface unfolds like a red carpet, guiding everyone – including wheelchair users and families with prams – through the dunes and down toward the sea.

The curved surfaces are thus covered like a great brick dune, creating both a physical and visual connection between the square and the beach. At the foot of the dune Marianne Hesselbjerg’s tubular bronze sculpture, “like an unrolled horizon” is situated. The sculpture simultaneously serves as artwork, bench, and social space for locals and visitors.

Since its completion, Vestled has become a popular destination and meeting place, defining its own space while giving new meaning to the coastal stretch south of Hvide Sande.

‍