Denmark
Design development
The harbour
The harbour park is part of the harbour area, with
an ambience that reflects its maritime and commer-
cial history. Towards the east, a six-storey, uniform
residential block ends the harbour area. Towards
the north, the 10m-high bridge, Langebro, ends
the harbour area. Facing south the view is towards
the preserved buildings of Dansk Sojakagefabrik
(the Danish Soya-cake Mill) and the H.C. Ørsted
Works. West of the park is a 300m-wide basin and
Kalvebod Brygge. In the background, the character-
istic skyline of Copenhagen is visible – with five-
storey buildings and towers.
The park itself is 50m wide. The groundscape is a
level surface of gravel onto which components are
either placed or dug into the ground. Towards the
east a leafy canopy of two rows of Prunus avium
functions as a promenade. The 12m-wide waterfront
raised 2m above sea level ends the park towards
the basin. Where streets open onto the promenade,
corresponding spaces within the park fulfil a specific
variety of functions, as described below. The com-
ponents in each space have a different character.
Between the open spaces are 30m-wide lawns bor-
dered by a 36cm-raised concrete panel. Paths are cut
diagonally through the lawns.
The park consists of different elements which are
described and analysed separately below. Many
different approaches towards design have been
combined. In the design of Vestmanna Plads, the
Lawns and the Playground, the designers listened
carefully to the wishes of the residents. The design
for the Waterfront, the Festival Place, Halfdan’s
Passage and the Market Place were informed by
respect for the history and character of the place,
as well as a positive attitude towards the recycling
and reuse of existing features. The diagonal paths
crossing the lawns, the curved walls at Reykjaviks
1.4
Aerial perspective sketch of the proposed Harbour
Park on Islands Brygge, December 1993. The cap-
tion reads ‘a recycled park which conveys the place,
the history and our time’.
