Place: Copenhagen, Denmark
Team: MASU Planning, Holscher Nordberg Architects
Client: RHB Development
Size: 8.500m2
Timeline: Completed 2018
Bjerglandsbyen Urban Village
Bjerglandsbyen is a dense housing area with a village-like atmosphere, located next to the iconic Bellahøj Towers on the highest elevation in Copenhagen.
Row-houses and apartment blocks are organized in a spiral around a shared space street, a safe environment perfect for the neighbourhood children to meet and play and a layout that encourages good social interactions.
A shared-street creates the framework for everyday life
From the shared-street you enter your home, it’s here you meet and greet your neighbours, and where your children play with their friend. The narrow road is mainly for pedestrians and bikes, and naturally, due to the dimensions, cars slow down as they enter the housing area ensuring a safe and friendly environment.
The streetscape is carefully designed to create a social space with small pockets for stay. It consists of the road, surrounded by the pedestrian path, a green buffer with lush grass-planting and a semi-private transition-zone along with the buildings. It is great to see how the residents personalize the semi-private zone with flowerpots and furniture, it creates a village-like atmosphere.
The hilly terrain at Bellahøj and the recreational area of Degnemosen has a distinct landscape character. The housing blocks are integrated with the hilly terrain and a ‘landscape’ belt creates a visual connection with the park and a green buffer around the buildings. The green buffer is wide towards the neighbouring plots and denser inside the area as a buffer between private space and the public street.
The planting consists of ornamental grasses, flowering perennials, trees and bushes, and as they grown into place they create a lush and varied street space. Each of the four square pockets has it’s own tree species; maple, alder, robinia and birch, which will add to the character to each space.
