Frederiksberg City Center
A sensuous collection of public spaces intricately tied together like 'soap bubbles' by a mix of sensations and sensuous experiences.
Location
Frederiksberg, Denmark
Size
18,000 m2
Client
Frederiksberg Municipality
Role
Lead landscape architect
Partners & Collaborators
Hansen & Henneberg
Challenges
Typology
Services
Frederiksberg City Center is the most densely populated area of Copenhagen. However, it lacked quality public spaces for the more than 30,000 visitors who pass through the area each day. The Municipality of Frederiksberg turned to SLA to create new urban spaces bustling with life.
The Frederiksberg City Center is an 18,000m2 public space dominated by large, introverted buildings. Therefore, the ‘normal’ method of creating life between buildings – opening up the buildings to the surrounding area – was not an option.
Consequently, SLA reversed the relationship between the inside and the outside. Instead of creating urban spaces that were subordinated to the buildings, SLA created five public spaces that were ‘rooms’ in their own right, using the surrounding buildings as facades.
Using a method borrowed from soap bubbles, the five separate public spaces were wedged intimately together while simultaneously giving each its own distinctive feel and expression.
Moving through the different public spaces, visitors will experience radically different sensations: Trees, fragrances, colors, surfaces, sounds, microclimate, temperature, and lighting change from one urban space to the next.
The only common denominator between the five public spaces is their intricate relationship with the weather – changing their feel and expressions with the rain, sun, and wind.
At nighttime, the public spaces change character again with lights and artificial sound effects, creating individual experiences to be shared by all.
As a result, Frederiksberg City Center has evolved from introverted transit areas to bustling public spaces rich in expressions and atmospheres.
Now inhabitants and visitors come to the Frederiksberg City Center to linger in the public spaces, meet people, or simply take a walk through the five different spaces – experiencing all the changing moods, sensations, and expressions life in a great city can offer.
