Just like many other production facilities, the Carlsberg breweries have been constructed as a distinct site, separated from its surroundings by fences and gates. For functional reasons and to follow the tax laws for beverage production the area was restricted and only people who had clear appointments could enter, right up until most production was relocated in 2008. Yet, while having such a closed character, the breweries also evolved as part of the city of Copenhagen and of larger networks that distributed knowledge, raw materials, goods, money and other industrial assets. This paradox – being at once separate and part of a larger urban landscape – is characteristic for former industrial sites and constitute a planning challenge. Further, this Janus-faced character shows that a site is not an entity that merely is. Concepts like industrial sites, heritage sites, urban development sites, and competition sites are frequently used in daily practice, often without further discussion. Yet, as this chapter will discuss, the very act of defining the boundary of a site is a matter of interpretation and taking positions – be it in prospect and in retrospect.

The plural form of the company name, the Carlsberg Breweries, already testifies that this may not be one site, but many. The official name of the urban project that begun in 2006, however, suggests something else: Carlsberg City. The name seems to try to shake off the fact that the former brewery is engulfed in the surrounding city to all sides and dependent on it in many ways. This chapter explores the tensions that characterized the way that Carlsberg was defined as a site during the redevelopment project. To contribute in this discussion, I propose new narratives about Carlsberg using a relational concept of site.

Carlsberg – Becoming a building site

The company, now known as Carlsberg Ltd, is today one of the world's largest breweries. It has played a significant role in Danish cultural history, having formed charitable foundations that have contributed to Danish academia and arts for 150 years. The brewery's success has enabled it to expand to approximately five times the size of the original premises on Valby Hill, first built in 1846. During the last century the Carlsberg property has become engulfed by the growing city.