2012 Annual Design Review, Play Category, Citation: Superkilen

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© Iwan Baan

Black Market area of Superkilen.

© Iwan Baan

Aerial view of Superkilen.

Courtesy BIG

Site plan diagram.

Courtesy BIG

Rendering of Red Square.

Courtesy BIG

A fountain in the Black Market area of Superkilen, with skate ra… Read More A fountain in the Black Market area of Superkilen, with skate ramp in the background.

Courtesy BIG

Rendering of Red Square sporting activities.

Courtesy BIG

Section through Red Square.

Courtesy BIG

Chess tables in the Black Market.

Courtesy BIG

Rendering of Black Market.

Courtesy BIG

Sections through the site showing various interventions.

© Iwan Baan

Aerial view of Superkilen.

Courtesy BIG

Squid gymnasium.

© Iwan Baan

Sports areas in the Red Square.

Category: Play
Citation

At the edge of Nørrebro, Copenhagen, a former rail yard has been reclaimed in an effort to bring together the surrounding communities. In the most ethnically diverse part of Denmark—boasting residents of more than 60 nationalities—this narrow, 1-kilometer-long tract of land acknowledges this melting pot through collections of community-selected found objects that represent each culture. The architects at BIG arranged these items within a scheme of three brightly colored, and programmatically diverse, zones: the Black Market offers a space for dining al fresco, the Red Square encourages the sports activities held at the adjacent Nørrebrohall to spill outdoors, and the Green Park provides playing fields and bermed landscapes for family relaxation.

BIG’s design for the 323,000-square-foot site, completed on an extremely limited budget, delineates distinct zones through color coding, splashing every surface with its own hue, from murals on buildings, down to the gravel surrounding tree roots. The end product is an exaggerated urban garden, with bright colors that bring liveliness and activity into the public park.

“There’s an effort to represent each nationality living in the neighborhood through follies or specific programs … that is a lot of bang for the buck at $34 per square foot.” —Elizabeth Ranieri

Project Credits Project Superkilen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Client Copenhagen Municipality, Realdania
Authorship BIG, Topotek1, Superflex
Collaboration Lemming Eriksson, Help PR & Communication
Architect BIG, New York—Bjarke Ingels (partner-in-charge); Nanna Gyldholm Møller, Mikkel Marcker Stubgaard (project leaders); Ondrej Tichy, Jonas Lehmann, Rune Hansen, Jan Borgstrøm, Lacin Karaoz, Jonas Barre, Nicklas Antoni Rasch, Gabrielle Nadeau, Jennifer Dahm Petersen, Richard Howis, Fan Zhang, Andreas Castberg, Armen Menendian, Jens Majdal Kaarsholm, Jan Magasanik (project team)
LandscapeConsultant Topotek1—Martin Rein-Cano, Lorenz Dexler (partners-in-charge); Ole Hartmann, Anna Lundquist (project leaders); Toni Offenberger, Katia Steckemetz, Cristian Bohne, Karoline Liedtke (project team)
ArtConsultant Superflex—Jakob Fenger, Rasmus Nielsen, Bjørnstjerne Christiansen (project team)
Size 322,917 square feet
Cost Withheld
Photographer Iwan Baan