Strategies for central areas of Copenhagen

Abstract

The planned closure of Copenhagen's commercial docks and railway yards presented the opportunity to consider not only possible uses for the vacated land but also the impact of these changes on the rest of the city. This paper is based on extracts from Urban Make, a record of a study made of this subject by a team of architects drawn from the architecture schools at Copenhagen and Århus, led by Erik Christian Sørensen. Reproduced here is an abbreviated account of the team's approach together with its proposals for three of the study areas and for reinforcing the link between the existing centre and the expanding Ørestad area across the harbour. Limitations on space preclude the inclusion of the remaining proposals and the studies made of other European cities, a series of essays on ‘The Commendable City’ and suggestions for reordering the city's streets and obtaining better value from investment in the public realm.