Karen Blixen Place in Erestad is one of the largest public spaces in Copenhagen: it is more than two hectares. It connects the campus of the metropolitan university and the green area of Amager-felled; nearby are the Royal Library and the DR concert hall designed by Jean Nouvel.
Underneath the three “hills,” there are bicycle parking areas, which house most of the 2,000 of these vehicles that the square can accommodate. These lightweight concrete shells are load-bearing structures at the same time. When designing with the participation of engineers EKJ and CN3, large openings were especially difficult, but it is thanks to them that there is light and spaciousness under the “hills”. Outside, these hills are covered with light tiles to match the university buildings around.
The seats on the slopes of the "hills", as well as their tops, allow the square to be used as an open-air theater for any kind of concerts and gatherings. It can accommodate about 1000 people.
From north to south, the area passes from the university urban environment to the “naturalness” of Amager-felled. In its southern part, the "hills" are covered with grass, and between them there are soil spaces for keeping rainwater, a kind of "proto-swamp" - "wet biotopes", as the architects call them. But Karen-Blixen-Place is “green” not only because of this and the parking lot for eco-friendly cycling: it does not require special maintenance, all materials are resistant to wear, benches, lamps and other furnishings are minimized.
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zooming 1/4 Karen Blixen Place Photo © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST
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zooming 2/4 Karen Blixen Place Photo © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST
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zooming 3/4 Karen Blixen Place Photo © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST
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zooming 4/4 Karen Blixen Place Photo © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST
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zooming 1/6 Karen Blixen Place Photo © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST
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zooming 2/6 Karen Blixen Place Photo © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST
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zooming 3/6 Karen Blixen Place Photo © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST
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zooming 4/6 Karen Blixen Place Photo © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST
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zooming 5/6 Karen Blixen Place Photo © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST
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zooming 6/6 Karen Blixen Place Photo © Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST
