Urban Parks: the Historic and the Contemporary

Compare and contrast one of Copenhagen's contemporary public parks with one of its historic ones.

For this exercise I'll focus on my two favorite destinations thus far: Kastellet, Copenhagen's historic waterfront defense fort, and Superkilen, a contemporary landscape art project where smart urban design moves meet a totally bizarre aesthetic.

Kastellet

Superkilen in Nørrebro

gold stars at the relevant locations

To begin with the obvious: these public parks could not be more different in appearance and feeling. The solemn atmosphere and reflective nature of Kastellet is almost silly to juxtapose against Superkilen's garish colors and nonsensical follies. The former is dominated by lawns, paths, and large shade trees, with a military monument at its center. The colors are understated, with small reflecting pools and a burning torch, and visitors seemed to have a strong sense of respect for the land and for those who came before them. Superkilen is bright, almost jarring at first sight. Most of the park is a variation on the urban hardscape, with changes in topography, color and material. When we visited children were playing, businessmen were having conversations, mothers pushed strollers, and bikers whizzed past.

One thing I've learned through my architecture education is that design is about intention – until its about reality. What I mean is that on one hand, the creation of these parks stemmed from a person or a group's ideas and intentions about the places. At the other end of the spectrum, these places are part of a public landscape, and they are used and interpreted and liked or disliked by their users. Kastellet was repurposed when the city required less military defense and more public greenspace; Superkilen was carved out of existing neighborhoods and built from scratch in an attempt to better integrate the diverse cultures and activities that Nørrebro has organically become.

While perhaps Superkilen takes more risks in its design, both parks are being used and enjoyed – users seemed truly happy to have access to the spaces. Along these lines, one could argue a similarity in that both spaces are designed for leisure activities: the spaces are used by people with free time, whether it be a twenty-minute lunch break or a full day in the park with the kids. And clearly, both spaces are accepted and thoroughly enjoyed by Copenhagen's inhabitants. Both provide a service to their communities as shared public spaces.

These parks are also similar in their extreme uniqueness. That may sound oxymoronic, but both parks offer an environment found no where else in the city, a special amenity that feels grounded in its place. Kastellet offers the best view of the ocean in the area, an opportunity to see the water from above in a very flat landscape, and do so in a leisurely fashion. It also encloses the visitors at first, making the reveal of the ocean view all the more spectacular. Superkilen warps your perspective of the urban environment with trippy lines and colors, and creates a corridor of urban public space in an otherwise dense neighborhood. It feels like a major crossing of traffic, of cultures and of forms.

In short, I think design intentions make these urban public spaces very different, but they each have qualities that make them valuable assets to their communities in a similar way.

Thanks for reading!

Robin