Continue cycling southeast from Queen Louise Bridge, and five blocks later you reach Nørreport Station, the busiest train and metro stop in Denmark (map here) – just recently rebuilt as a major public space (one of many new projects throughout the city).
Before:
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After:
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The first impression: bicycles!
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As with Amsterdam (or any city where the bike becomes a popular commuter vehicle), there is a huge problem with bike parking – as reported by the BBC here: Copenhagen’s Piles of Bicycles.
The reconstruction of Nørreport offered a chance to reorganize a major transfer point where suburbanites coming in by train park their bikes for use in the central city, or vice versa. From “Guide to New Architecture in Copenhagen:”
The layout of the new station is designed based on a study of pedestrian traffic across the site (that) allowed the architects … to place the buildings and bicycle parking so as not to hinder the many people crossing the Norreport Station concourse daily. …
They solved the problem with ‘bike beds’ where cyclists can leave their bike ‘planted’ while on the move elsewhere. The bike parking is distributed across the entire concourse in the less trafficked areas in sunken beds around 40 cm below the pavement. This serves to indicate the designated ‘planting’ area, but has the added advantage of reducing the many bicycles’ visibility in the cityscape. The beds, which are floodlit at night by LED luminaires, take up to 2,500 bikes.
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This is one of the few places where custom-designed bollards provide a secure space to rack bicycles with a chain or wire.
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Most Copenhageners simply use a kickstand when they leave their bike, with a keyed clapse that locks the rear wheel. Minimum security, but quick and easy. (Though 18,000 bikes a year are reported stolen in the city – probably a tolerable percentage given the overall number.)
The new pavilions that give access to the station below and provide services above look like mid-century modernist follies designed by Morris Lapidus for Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road.
The buildings have rounded corners and transparent glass sidings … without ‘shady sides’ and dark corners. … A series of individual pent roofs serve as roofing for the buildings and shelters for bicycle parking and stairways … Although not visible at street level, a roof-top view reveals that the pent roofs are covered in low greenery … that serve to absorb some of the run-off from sudden cloudbursts.
It’s true: the weather is variable, and since the city is at roughly the latitude of Prince Rupert, a summer day can feel like Vancouver in October. But as the Swedes reportedly say: “No bad weather, just bad clothing.”
It’s the reason why the Danes take full advantage of the good weather when they get it – and their beautifully designed and abundant public spaces serve that urge to be outside:
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