Karen Blixen Plads, Copenhagen
COBE Architects- Type Public space Landscape architecture / Urban planning Square
- Material Concrete
- Date 2019
- City Copenhagen
- Country Denmark
- Photographer Rasmus Hjortshøj
With an area of 20,000 square meters, Karen Blixen Plads is one of Copenhagen’s largest squares. Located within a strategic enclave between the city university’s South Campus and the Royal Danish Library, the new public space arose from adopting a combination of interrelated sustainability strategies. First was the idea of creating an undulating carpet designed by a multidisciplinary team of architects and engineers, a green and ceramic surface under which a large bicycle parking shelter has been provided. Second was the decision to make the plaza capable of handling stormwater, in such a way that rainwater collected could be used to form small lakes around which new urban biotopes would proliferate. Third was the desire to mix green and civic sustainability considerations, and hence the inclusion of an open-air auditorium accommodating an audience of over a thousand people.