A Danish architecture firm issued drawings this week for a shopping center designed to look like a sailboat as part of the broader redevelopment proposed for Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

The Copenhagen-based firm 3XN released its design proposal for the project at 201 E. Pratt St. MCB Real Estate has proposed a $500 million redevelopment of the Harborplace retail center on Baltimore’s Patapsco River waterfront.

The retail center includes a design of stacked roofs that will be accessible to the public. The building’s curved shape is intended to serve as a ”natural extension of the waterfront,” 3XN said.

“This project and this design activates the waterfront in a way that ensures it is for everyone in our city, our region and our state,” David Bramble, managing partner of MCB, said in a statement.

Architects at 3XN said they chose a sailboat design because of the harbor’s marinas.

“Like a sail catches and directs the flow of the wind, the edges of the building’s concave curved terraces are tuned to take advantage of both the prevailing wind and sea breeze,” 3XN said.

Other North American projects designed by 3XN include a mass timber office tower at the T3 Bayside project in Toronto.

Baltimore developed its Inner Harbor district starting in the 1960s with new community parks and walking paths after the decline of the waterfront’s industrial occupants.

Commercial development followed with residential complexes, hotels, retail stores and office buildings opening. The Rouse Co. developed the Harborplace retail center in 1980, and the National Aquarium opened in 1981.

MCB has said that the distinctive pavilions that Rouse constructed for Harborplace will be demolished as part of its new project, according to the Baltimore Banner. In addition to the 3XN-designed retail building, MCB will also develop residential and office towers on the site.

MCB acquired the leasehold interest in the Harborplace site in June through a court receivership process.

The neighborhood remains popular with tourists for its walkable attractions, including museums and restaurants. Two professional sports stadiums, Camden Yards for the MLB's Baltimore Orioles and M&T Bank Stadium for the NFL's Baltimore Ravens, are about a mile west of the center of the Inner Harbor district.

Kim Herforth Nielsen and Jens Holm at 3XN are lead design architects. Gensler is in charge of the master plan for the Harborplace redevelopment.