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mn123 meet your neighbour copenhagen
The international climate debate has in the recent years become more evident with diplomatic discussions and negotiations of levels of CO2 emission in accordance to the Kyoto agreement, how can we promote green growth, maintain enough food production, prevent global warming and subsequent rising sea levels etc. All very serious and important topics, but hardly anything that make an impact on you as a responsible citizen and contributor to the world’s climate challenges. Meet your neighbour states: A green initiative that combines environmental responsibility and economical as social benefits for the citizens of Skt Kjelds Plads and surroundings (entire site). This statement has been deeply saturated in our design of a new park at Skt Kjelds Plads, which will become the core of a strong identity for the area and connect and gather the neighbourhood community physically aswell as mentally.
The park has conventional recreational qualities and programmes addressing the close neighbourhood, but introduces a new element in the typical city programme: Four tall green towers. The towers work as green landmarks for the area and approach the entire city, giving the neighbourhood, but also Copenhagen, a strong (green) identity. It attracts together with the park a lot of social life and gives a green awareness among people in the area in general. The towers function as “urban vertical farms” and provides apart from environmental and social benefits to the city, organic vegetables to the area. One tower is intended for kitchen gardening and is an obvious place to meet new or old friends, and increasing the tolerance in the community. The park is all together a part of a huge sustainable strategy that harness different natural resources from the entire site. Rain water is collected and used to many things (cooling of buildings, toilet flushing, irrigation of soil, cultivation of algae etc.), sun energy is harnessed through algae production, greenery and food production helping to reduce the CO2 emission in the city (read more below).
Meet your neighbour has both an economical as well as a social advantages for the area. First of all drinking water can be saved, which is a very direct and measurable money saver for each citizen. Furthermore water from rain pipes can be used locally, instead of directing it into the sewers, which also costs the citizens money. The social advantages include a new social awareness of sustainability in the area! Sustainability is the common identity and is concretized into a form in the new park. The park can be experienced as a mixture of nature and urbanity; an island in the city. This is a park you use as a hub, perhaps you buy some locally grown groceries sold at the plaza or even take your dearest for a view in the towers. It is also a park in which you have the opportunity to engage more physically and socially. The open facilities in the park can be used for different venues; perhaps you wish to make a small fair or sell some of your extra groceries from your high kitchen garden you share with a new friend two blocks away. Either way the new park somehow is what makes, a term like sustainability, an impact in the everyday life of people in the area, both visually and mentally.
Next to the greenhouse a two pieced building is intended for education informational use, as well as a space for community cultural arrangements. This could be small concerts or other similar activities. A sports hall with training facilities is situated in the north eastern part of the park and share idiom with the auditorium, the greenhouse, the roofed hall and the towers. An important part of the park is a huge water sculpture. The sculpture reflects the amount of water collected in the area. In accordance to the total water balance the sculpture expands and contracts acting as a mirror of the season, functioning as a representation on the rainfall and as a delay basin. The park is grown with trees and well illuminated at night. The parking lot below surfaced gets diffused sunlight through small circular skylights in the park terrain.
park
The site is converted into a big new public park which is only accessible for pedestrians and cyclists. Below the park two new parking lots are established; these are accessed from the four different corner points. The park is open night and day and offers a more or less empty or open programme that works as anchor or meeting points in the park. A central space in the terrain is submerged and functions as a plaza. Here a flea market or a vegetable market with locally grown vegetables from the farm towers could be held once/twice a week. This place also functions as the hub for crossing from one place to another, whether you are a pedestrian or a cyclist. Biking lanes from all corner points link to each other and gives an easy access across the park. In the southerly part of the park we plan a building that has a shell character. This is a roofed open space that can be used for different venues. To the north there is a greenhouse. The greenhouse has opening hours but is open all year providing a pleasant, green interior that also can be used for different exhibitions.
glass and ribbons of algae containers (photo bio reactors). During the year the green colour of the algae ribbons fades or darkens thus creating a beautiful and dynamic facade. The green ribbons are a renewable energy source, which will be explained in detail later. Three towers are for urban farming and one tower is for kitchen gardens. All tower roofs are accessible for all and in all hours providing a certain experience and view of the city roofs. Growing your own crops is seen as a social activity which everybody regardless of social status can meet upon, generating a basis of neighbourhood self-awareness and a feeling of local empowerment.
towers
As a contrast to these semi-open programmes the four towers are planned for certain activities. They connect the area, are highly visible and become the landmark of the area. The tower facades are vertical striped and consist of ribbons of
meet your neighbour » plan » 1:1000 a. plaza b. vertical farming towers c. water sculpture d. greenhouse e. skylights holes for parking garage f. auditorium g. sports hall h. roofed hall i. bicycle path j. entrance to parking garage k. area boundary-car free zone l. pond
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