Flemming Rafn Thomsen and Ole Schrøder from Tredje Natur won a competition to re-design Saint Kjelds as part of the Europan architecture competition in 2011, after which the city of Copenhagen signed them up to advise on the strategic development of the area.
They are redesigning the Copenhagen neighbourhood to better handle the floods expected as climate change leads to fewer but heavier rain storms. When heavy rainfall strikes in Saint Kjelds, the water will be collected above ground in parks and squares to simultaneously relieve the sewer systems and create new recreational areas around the pools. A giant ring in the main square will spray out a cooling mist on hot days, while excess water will be channelled along new cycle lanes that will double as storm drains, leading to canals and out to the harbour rather than into people’s basements.
“Only last year, three cloud bursts cost the society over 5 billion DKK in damage to the buildings and infrastructure,” says Flemming Rafn Thomsen, partner at Tredje Natur. “The climate adaptive plans in Copenhagen, and whole of Denmark really, are humongous and will probably have a time frame longer than 20 years, but the political will to get something done soon is pretty strong.”
The climate is changing behavior. The Copenhageners can look forward to fewer but heavier rain showers, as the city has already been experiencing over the last two summers. In Saint Kjeld’s Neighborhood a comprehensive urban development project seeks to demonstrate how the city can be arranged so rainwater can be managed in the streets in a more natural and effective way. The project was designed by the newly established architectural firm TREDJE NATUR, and promotes new solutions for how we adapt to the climate changes and develop our cities.
“The increase in rainfall is a major challenge for our city. But by tackling the challenge the right way, we can secure the city from cloudbursts while also bringing the city new recreational values. The ideas in Saint Kjeld’s Neighborhood are a really good example of this,” says Technical and Environmental Mayor of Copenhagen, Ayfer Baykal (SF).
Mor information can be found here on the project
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