Denmark
‘Sibirica’ in the gravel surface. An aerial ropeway
in the children’s scheme was changed to a bridge
running between two towers. Designing this latter
feature was a challenge for the landscape architect,
who brought in an engineer to advise on stability.
The bridge itself was constructed by a ‘rigger’ from
a local shipyard.
Although the wilder ideas produced by the children
had to be toned down, the playground provides a
good and safe place to play. It is fenced and framed
by a wall to the street; spatially it is very open to
the harbour, though fenced all round for reasons
of safety.
Evaluation
In the original proposal for the park the designers
stated that their intention was to create ‘a recycled
park which conveys the place, the history and our
time’. In this, they have been successful. The four
themes – recycling, place, history and time – are
evident throughout the Harbour Park.
It is not just the materials and elements of construc-
tion that have been reused or recycled, but also the
very openness of the site itself. This place in the
middle of the city and the edge of the harbour has
been retained with an open sky above and unim-
peded views of the city skyline. History has been
preserved in numerous ways, not just through the
paved waterfront and the recycled materials but in
new constructions like the pergolas or aerial rope-
way which have a family resemblance to the older
elements and make reference to the former use of
the site. The more recent layer of history provided by
the provisional park is also marked by the retention
of the Aesculus hippocastanum and the rethinking
of the big lawns. Our own time is written on the site
in the form of the diagonal paths, the curved walls
and the new lighting. Local people have contributed
to the creation of this contemporary layer, as in the
suggestions made by the skaters for the design of
steps, pavement and ramps. Contemporary needs
are also addressed in the focus upon outdoor
facilities, which has become even more important
