Gabled Warehouse Quay

Gabled Warehouse Quay is an original illustration set in Copenhagen Harbour, Denmark. It lies in high latitudes, where the climate is oceanic — mild, wet through the year.

A joined row of narrow stepped-gable houses in deep ochre-red, mustard and indigo lines a canal quay. Black city bicycles lean in a row along the edge. Wooden masts stand at the moorings, and the sun is still well up at half past seven on a midsummer evening.

Why are the gables built in steps?

Stepped gables let a mason finish a steep roof edge in brick without cutting stone, and narrow frontages again reflect taxation by street width. Warehouse-derived houses fronting a working quay mark a trading port built around water rather than roads. Full daylight at that hour, in summer, places it well north.

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