The Harbour Park, Copenhagen
Plads and lighting at Halfdan’s Passage, on the
other hand, demonstrate a contemporary approach.
Some features of the park employ references to
other designed landscapes, such as the Alley,
which draws upon Marienjberg Cemetery as well
as promenade planting in Berlin and Paris; the
lighting at Halfdan’s Passage, inspired by examples
in Barcelona; and the zigzag steps at the Festival
Place, which pay tribute to those at the Parc de la
Villa Cecilia, Barcelona.
Promenade with leafy canopy of cherries
Parallel to the street known as Islands Brygge
on the eastern side of the park there is an alley
formed of Prunus avium. This avenue is 7.75m
wide and 570m in total length. There is a 100mm
camber to this alley, casting run-off to either side.
A specimen of Aesculus hippocastanum from the
provisional park is to be found at the northern
end of the alley. The trees create a leafy canopy
which is broken by gaps at the points where
other streets meet Islands Brygge. This gives the
impression of a partly open and not a distinctively
tight character. On the other hand, the rhythm and
profile of the avenue provide an instantly recog-
nised element and one can easily accept these
pauses at the street ends. The canopy announces
the park to the street, and at the same time one
can see beneath the trees to the park and the
harbour beyond. Stepping over the street kerb
onto the gravel surface marks the transition from
city to park.The first row of trees stands 1.75m from the edge
of the cycle path. The distance between the two
rows is 7.75m and the gravel surface ends 2.18m
from the trees with a 36cm-high edge of concrete.
The spacing between the trees in the row is 6m.
The landscape architects based these dimensions
on field research into successful promenade plant-
ings in Berlin and Paris. Lighting is provided by
lamp-posts placed at intervals of every fourth tree.
The trees were planted as ‘standards’ (i.e. they had
a stem circumference of 18–20cm measured at 1m
above ground).The construction of the alleyway is as follows: the
top 20mm consists of hoggin,^3 i.e. gravel bound
with clay. This is laid on a 150mm base course of
well-graduated gravel (between 0 and 35mm diam-
eter), laid on top of the pre-existing soil formation.
The tree planting pits are 2.0 x 3.0m in plan, each
containing 450mm of growing medium on top of
500mm of loosened soil. The top of the pit was
covered with 50mm of uncompacted gravel on top
of 20mm of hoggin. The spaces between the pits
are filled to a depth of 500mm with ‘root-friendly
material’ consisting of large stones infilled with soil
(the soil occupies about 25 per cent of the volume).
On top of this is a geosynthetic membrane, 100cm