European Landscape Architecture: Best Practice in Detailing

Denmark

sleepers will be kept as elements which give some

character and identity. The sleepers will be flush

with the surrounding surface.’

However, this original concept had to be modified.

The park office in Copenhagen follows a policy not

to plant trees smaller than 18–20cm in circumfer-

ence at 1m stem height. It was not possible to

obtain a sufficient quantity of Salix in larger sizes,

soPrunus avium ‘Plena’ was substituted. It was

chosen for its double flowers. It bears no fruits.

It also proved impossible to reuse the old railway

sleepers as there was a fear that the chemicals

which had been used to preserve these timbers

could cause cancer.

The hollow section in the designer’s first sketch

suggested a concave profile for the path, but this

would have caused ponding of storm-water in the

centre, so it was rejected in favour of a convex pro-

file which would shed water towards the trees.

Such large areas of gravel interrupted by raised

edges and items of furniture provide good conditions

for weed growth. Because of the recycled/reclaimed

aesthetic of the site, the landscape architect, Poul

Jensen, could accept a few weeds, but he did not

want the gravel to turn into a green surface. The

maintenance personnel have accepted that hand

weeding will be necessary, along with the use of

flame weeders. Initially, the gravel surface was a lit-

tle loose, which made it easier for weeds to become

established, but it is now more firm and stable.

The paved waterfront

The promenade along the waterfront is 11.15m

wide x 570m long and is paved with granite setts.

Two sets of railway lines remain in the pavement,

connected by gently curving pieces of track. Two

rows of granite slabs have been placed along one

set of tracks. Along the harbour edge, groups of

Crataegus crus-galli have been planted. The prom-

enade is interrupted in places by new features with

more elevation, such as the skateboard rink, new

walls, the pergola and the tower in the playground.

There are also new benches sited to give views

over the harbour.

The harbour edge is defined by a 350mm-wide

granite element which is 50mm proud of the sett

paving and dates from the building of the harbour

in 1908. The granite setts and the railway tracks are

laid directly onto the fill material used to construct

the area known as Islands Brygge in 1905–08.

Storm-water run-off is directed towards the harbour

edge where it is collected in drains before it is deliv-

ered into the harbour. The original granite mooring

posts have been retained, together with their steel

1.8
Plan of the waterfront, as constructed, showing
the line of granite slabs, the railway tracks and the
seating areas