How we chose the space

DSB (Danish State Railways) open their new central workshop

New freight railway station is built The Yellow Town is built Otto Busses Vej is named after Otto Busse, a DSB manager

WWII breaks out. Area around the Central Workshop is refurbished for allotments Freight railway station is modernized

1910 1939 1944

1.2 History of Railway City

The Railway City, historically, is a very interesting space. And it has gone thorugh many changes in the last century (fig. 1.5). When the central workshop opened in 1909 it consisted of different workshops, each with their own function. All of it powered by a power station in the middle. All the workshops were mutually connected by more than 10 km of railways. All the buildings built up until 1922 were drawn by the architect H.E.C Wench, who also drew the Copenhagen Central Station and Østerport Station. He was the chief architect of DSB (Danish State Railways) and therefore his architectural style is prominent all over the area. Physically the area presents as a self-sufficient unit. In this unit there is also a small ”town” of small yellow terraced houses. The Yellow town, as the housing area is called, was built in 1910. It consists of around 30 housings for the employees of DSB´s workshops. It was for the employees that had to be on standby 24-7 to move to train accidents etc.. The histories of the individual buildings and surroundings contributes to a larger narration of a modern industrial area. In 2009 the unused railway buildings were sublet and offices and creative workshops moved in. As an example the old Locomotive workshop is transformed into housing large events and conferences. The old wood storage depot as well, has been transformed into an eco village with food

1959 DSB outsource railway freight transports Jernbanebyen (The Railway City) becomes the areas official name Architectural competition commences with bids to develop the area

Unused railway buildings are sublet Office communes, entrepeneurs and creative workshops moves in Oehlenschlægersgades School temporarily moves into The Railway City. Expected to remain until 2021 Food market opens CPH Village (student housing) is established

2000 2010

Fig. 1.5: Historical timeline (source: Jernbanebyen.dk, 2021) courts, cafes and shops under the name Banegaarden (old railway station). The area got its official name Jernbanebyen (The Railway City) in 2019, and in 2020 CPH Village, a student housing, was built. In the coming years, the entire DSB’s old workshop area will be transformed and repurposed as a new district as a part of The Railway City. So there’s a deep rooted cultural heritage in the area. The entire area is built up around the railways and refers and relates to its historical heritage as a core element of past and future developments. (source: Jernbanebyen.dk, 2021).

SUMMARY: There is a deep-rooted cultural heritage in the area, built around its historical heritage related to the railways.

fig. 1.6: photos and audio documentation from every stop along our walk through

1.3 A walk through

To add on to the previous analysis, the project team conducted a long and well documented walk through the city, including documentation in the form of photos, written observations, and sound recordings (fig. 1.6 and 1.7). This was done to define the atmosphere of The Railway City, or in other words; find its essence. The walk took place in March 2021 during daytime on partly cloudy weather. Special attention was given both to the visual landscape and to the acoustic environment. The southern edge of The Railway City is bordered by a metro park. The road on this southern side has no explicit landmarks, making it difficult to remember that the location is quite central Copenhagen. Even the noise from rest of Copenhagen does not carry this far. The soundscape is very silent and peculiar, with the occasional distant sounds of metro, and quiet industrial humming of machinery from the nearby buildings. The skyline is very low, as there are no high buildings, and the sky is visually dominant. The atmosphere is a mixture of industrial, yet peaceful. The road that leads past the CPH Village dorm, the old wood storage and the school, has a livelier atmosphere with plenty of details, yet the soundscape is still tranquil. There are no train tracks in sight from this road, but the train theme lives strong within the old wooden storage building following the road. The visual environment is rustic and crafty, with different styles of buildings from different eras. The road is highly used by the people living in the dorm. When society recovers from the pandemic, the road would also be used by young students that go to school in the area. The atmosphere changes drastically when

fig. 1.7: Map indicating the stops made along our daytime journey, where photo and audio documentations have been registered transitioning through the tunnel. The entrance to the tunnel is untidy and worn, and the tunnel itself is very uniform in style and somewhat unpleasant with the buttonshaped downlights and plenty of graffiti. The main change during the transition inside the tunnel happens with the soundscape. The tunnel is very echoing, and the echoes multiply when approaching the busy Enghavevej due to higher traffic levels. On Enghavevej side the tunnel ends to a wall with some graffiti and narrow exits to the sides. A part of the tunnel starting from Enghavevej is slightly more spacious than the rest of the tunnel, with its square shape. Yet still the entrance feels very tight, as it is heavily used by cyclists, and they take a lot of space when turning. Ascending to the street in Enghavevej doesn’t bring much comfort, as it is quite noisy and this side of the street doesn’t have more elements than a rugged fence separating the train tracks from the street. All in all, the entrance is quite uninviting.

SUMMARY: There is a unique and peaceful atmosphere in The Railway City, especially regarding the tranquil soundscape and low skyline. But this atmosphere does not carry into and through the tunnel. It is rather difficult to spot the entrance to the city from Enghavevej side, as there are no inclinations to what might await on the other side.