Landscape & Urban Design Issue 41 2020 | Page 40

ARCHITECTS PROJECT KAREN BLIXENS PLADS PUBLIC SQUARE At more than 20,000 m2 Karen Blixens Plads is one of the largest public squares in Copenhagen. Situated between the University of Copenhagen and the Danish Royal Library’s buildings at the university’s South Campus, the open and welcoming urban space is an innovative, spectacular and multi- functional architectural design that accommodates and promotes green transportation, climate change adaptation, and biodiversity. The project was supported by a generous donation from the private foundation A.P Møller Fonden. 40 www.landud.co.uk Innovative bicycle parking The combined public square and university plaza are designed as a carpet that covers an undulating terrain of small hills and breaks the large space up into smaller zones with room for activities both on and inside the hills (domes). The three bicycle hills were created as cast concrete shells clad with hand-laid tiles in colors echoing the exteriors of the surrounding university buildings. In addition to serving as an active meeting place for students, employees, and locals, the square also contains a high-capacity bicycle parking space for the many users of the university, including 16,000 students and 2,000 employees. The innovative and unique design has room for 2,000 bicycles. Follow us @ludmagazine