i 
 
 
ABSTRACT 
 
 
 
 
Title of Document: + SPACE: 
Appropriation Urban Infrastructure 
  
 Sofia Weller, Master of Architecture, 2015 
  
Directed By: Professor Hooman Koliji, Ph.D, School of 
Architecture, Planning and Preservation 
 
 
 
This thesis explores and proposes urban design schemes for three 
underutilized and partially abandoned industrial and transportation properties 
that are presently voids and that are divisive to the urban fabric of 
Copenhagen’s central city. The sites of the voids are located along the rail 
line that currently and historically serve Copenhagen’s Central Train Station. 
These are Banegardspladsen and the two Boulevard Line’s voids. The goal of 
this thesis is to propose an urban design scheme that follows a feasibility 
study that states the opportunities and limitations set by Copenhagen’s 
municipality, the community, as well as the property owners. The scheme 
proposes the interlinking of the physical aspect of a living city with it’s culture, 
not only to serve the locals but to welcome visitor by providing Copenhagen 
with a desired central gathering space as well as a place for arrival to the city. 
The urban intervention becomes a celebration of History, an exhibition of the 
transportation culture of the city and provides a series of public spaces that 
encourage spontaneous events threaded by a string of pedestrian and bike 
paths.  
i 
 
 
 
 
 
+ SPACE 
APPROPRIATION OF URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE 
 
By 
 
Sofia Weller  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the 
University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment 
of the requirements for the degree of 
Master of Architecture 
2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Advisory Committee: 
 
Professor Hooman Koliji, PhD, Chair 
Professor of the Practice Peter Noonan, AIA, LEED BD+C 
Professor Steven Hurtt 
 
ii 
 
Table of Contents 
 
 
List of Figures ................................................................................................. iii 
01_OVERVIEW ............................................................................................... 1 
02_ CONTEXT: Copenhagen .......................................................................... 3 
HISTORY ................................................................................................ 3 
Copenhagen: Merchants Harbor ........................................................ 3 
GROWTH ................................................................................................ 5 
Physical Evolution + Fortification Wall................................................ 5 
Egnsplan ............................................................................................ 8 
The evolution of Egnsplan ................................................................ 10 
People Oriented City Center ............................................................ 11 
COPENHAGEN’S railLINE .................................................................... 13 
Existing railLINE ............................................................................... 13 
New Metro City Circle Line ............................................................... 14 
03_SITE ........................................................................................................ 15 
 
BANEGARDSPLADSEN + THE BOULEVARD railLINE ....................... 21 
Existing Conditions ........................................................................... 23 
 
04_OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERVENTION ............................................... 25 
05_DESIGN APPROACH .............................................................................. 26 
06_CONCLUSIONS……………………………………………………………... 40 
 
Bibliography ................................................................................................... 41 
 
 
 
 
 
 
iii 
 
List of Figures 
Figure 1.01 Banegardspladsen today (source: author) 
Figure 1.01 The Liberty Memorial, Banegardspladsen + the Central Train Station (source: 
www.kb.dk) 
Figure 2.02 Copenhagen 1535 (source: author) 
Figure 2.03 Copenhagen 1650 (source: author) 
Figure 2.04 Copenhagen 1535 (source: author) 
Figure 2.05 Copenhagen 1650 (source: author) 
Figure 2.06 Copenhagen 1850 (source: author) 
Figure 2.07 Copenhagen 5 finger Urban Plan (source: author, base www.googlemaps.com) 
Figure 2.08 Copenhagen 7 finger Urban Plan (source: author, base www.googlemaps.com) 
Figure 2.09 Copenhagen's new development finger plan (source: author, base 
www.googlemaps.com) 
Figure 2.10 Copenhagen Districts (source: artedigitalinternet.com.br) 
Figure 2.11 Development of Copenhagen’s ‘S’ train and Metro networks. (Source: Knowles 
2012) 
Figure 2.12 Transportation systems of the city center of Copenhagen with the new City Circle 
Line   (source: author, base www.googlemaps.com) 
Figure 3.01 Aerial view of Copenhagen highlighting sites of intervention. (Source: author) 
iv 
 
Figure 3.02 Sites Identified by Copenhagen for development and explored on this thesis.               
(Source: Københavns Kommune) 
Figure 3.03 Diagram showing multiple layers of the site (source: author) 
Figure 3.03 + Figure 3.04 Diagrams form Copenhagen’s task force identifying selected sites 
(source: Københavns Kommune) 
Figure 3.05 Diagrams form Copenhagen’s task force identifying projected cost of 
development. (Source: Københavns Kommune) 
Figure 3.06 Diagrams form Copenhagen’s task force’s structural analysis for the sites. 
(Source: Københavns Kommune) 
Figure 3.06 + Figure 3.07 Alternative Proposals by Copenhagen’s Task Force. (Source: 
Københavns Kommune) 
Figure 3.08, Figure 3.09 + Figure 3.10 Current conditions (source: author) 
Figure 3.12 Transportation diagram (source: author) 
 
Figure 4.01 Study of adjacent public spaces (source: author) 
 
Figure 4.02 Diagram of potential connections to adjacent public spaces (source: author) 
Figure 5.01 + Figure 5.02 Current Site Conditions (source: author) 
 
Figure 5.03, Figure 5.04 + Figure 5.05 Design Proposal Diagrams (source: author) 
 
Figure 5.06 + Figure 5.07 Design Schemes (source: author) 
 
Figure 5.08 + Figure 5.09 Sectional Schematic Design (source: author) 
 
Figure 5.10 Urban plan of design intervention (source: author) 
 
Figure 5.11 Design intervention (source: author) 
 
v 
 
Figure 5.12 Section perspective diagram through Banegardspladsen (source: author) 
 
Figure 5.13 Proposal for Eco-Cycle bicycle parking locations (source: author) 
 
Figure 5.14 Section through underground train history exhibit (source: author) 
 
Figure 5.15 Section through outdoor screening and cinema (source: author) 
 
Figure 5.16 Section through proposed museum (source: author) 
 
Figure 5.17 Section through community building and adjacent/existing concert venue (source: 
author) 
 
Figure 5.18 View of proposed Visitor Center + Banegardspladsen (source: author) 
 
Figure 5.19 View of Proposed pedestrian and bicycle paths (source: author) 
 
Figure 5.20 Proposed design intervention (source: author) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
01_OVERVIEW 
This thesis explores and proposes urban design schemes for three 
underutilized and partially abandoned industrial and transportation properties 
that are presently dividing voids and are divisive to the urban fabric of 
Copenhagen’s central city. The sites of the voids are located along the rail 
line that currently and historically serve Copenhagen’s Central Train Station. 
These are Banegardspladsen and the two Boulevard Line’s voids. The goal of 
this thesis is to propose an urban design scheme that follows a feasibility 
study that states the opportunities and limitations set by Copenhagen’s 
municipality, the community, as well as the property owners. The scheme 
proposes the interlinking of the physical aspect of a living city with it’s culture, 
not only to serve the locals but to welcome visitor by providing Copenhagen 
with a desired central gathering space as well as a place for arrival to the city. 
The urban intervention becomes a celebration of History, an exhibition of the 
transportation culture of the city and provides a series of public spaces that 
encourage spontaneous events threaded by a string of pedestrian and bike 
paths.  
Technological advances are constantly altering our urban fabric. 
Transportation infrastructures is especially vulnerable to these technological 
changes and constantly must adapt, or they become overlooked and 
abandoned, consequently creating negative spaces in the urban form. 
Recently, large infrastructural revitalizations in many cities around the world 
 2 
 
have provided opportunity for these industrial landscapes, railways, rail yards, 
highways and docklands to be made available to serve a combination of 
private development and public use. This thesis will examine a series of 
precedent studies to draw lessons and apply them in the proposal for 
Copenhagen’s site. 
Banegardspladsen and the boulevard line, three urban voids in the city center 
of Copenhagen act as scars left behind by transportation infrastructure that is 
no longer in use. On the other side of the Central Train Station, lies a rail yard 
that divides the city from its waterfront. This ruptures left by transportation 
infrastructure present themselves as a great opportunities for the reintegration 
with a renewed city fabric.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                           
    
 
 
 
 
         Figure 1.01 Banegardspladsen Today 
 3 
 
02_ CONTEXT: Copenhagen 
 
HISTORY 
Copenhagen: Merchants Harbor 
 
The capital city of Denmark, Copenhagen, was founded in the 10th 
century as a small Viking fishing village protected by a castle. The 
convenient location for both the Baltic-North Sea and European-
Scandinavian medieval trading routes allowed Copenhagen to grow 
and become a successful and major trading center. 
  
King Christian IV is known to have been an enterprising and inventive 
Monarch, recognized as a great builder and the most prominent 
architect of the city. When Christian IV was crowned king in 1596, 
Copenhagen had become rich and powerful and during King Christian 
IV’s reign great projects such as the Round Tower, the Old Stock 
Exchange, The Old Citadel and Rosenborg Castle were constructed.  
 
The construction of the Lakes of Copenhagen (Sankt Jørgens Lake, 
Peblinge Lake and Sortedams Lake) was also a project commissioned 
by King Christian IV with the intention of having water close to the city 
to be utilized for watermills and to increase military protection for the 
 4 
 
city. These lakes were formed from what was originally a long stream 
outside the city walls. Today they are used primarily as a recreational 
area and a biking and running route.  
 
In 1797, The Liberty Memorial was erected outside the ramparts of 
Copenhagen to commemorate the abolishment of adscription. 
Adscription had been introduced in Denmark in 1733. It bound farmers 
and workers to the estates where they were born and prevented them 
from leaving the properties without the permission of the landowners. 
The monument was also built to honor King Christian VII who was 
responsible for the abolishment of adscription. Today, the Liberty 
Memorial is located in front of Banegårdspladsen, one of the sites this 
thesis will explore.  
Figure 3.01 The Liberty Memorial, Banegardspladsen + the Central Train Station  
 5 
 
GROWTH 
Physical Evolution + Fortification Wall 
The city of Copenhagen grew on the main land of Zeeland adjacent to 
the island of Amager. By the end of the 15th century, Copenhagen had 
a population of around 5,000.1 In 1535, Copenhagen had grown to 
become a fortress-city. Subsequently, King Christian IV (1588-1648) 
transformed Copenhagen’s defensive system into a typical 
Renaissance pattern (1606 and 1624).This protected the existing 
medieval city as well as a new development to the north. The island of 
Amager was developed with a fortified center in 1617 to strengthen 
Copenhagen’s harbor defenses. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
1 Morris, A. E. J. History of Urban Form Before the Industrial Revolution. 3rd ed. Hoboken: Taylor and 
Francis, 2013. 
Figure 2.03 Copenhagen 1650 Figure 4.02 Copenhagen 1535 
 6 
 
About one third of the development north of the medieval city center 
was burned during the fire of 1728. Twenty eight percent of the city 
was destroyed, including 1,6602 houses and five churches in the 
course of four days.  Re-development was done in a Renaissance 
pattern with regulated streets surrounding one of Copenhagen’s most 
important squares, Amalienborg Slotspads. By the late 17th century the 
population of Copenhagen had grown to around 60,000 people.  
 
Historically the fortification wall created a barrier between the city 
center and the no-build zone immediately outside the ramparts. Once 
the city was allowed to build beyond its fortification, during the 19th 
century, a series of residential districts were built outside the old 
ramparts: Vesterbro, Inner Norrebro and Inner Osterbro.  
 
During the 1840s the military was pressured to dismantle the ring of 
fortifications in the inner city. This led to the military selling the land to 
Copenhagen Municipality. When the state gave up protecting 
Copenhagen behind ramparts and moats, the architect and town 
planner Ferdinand Meldahl, proposed the creation of the Park Belt. 
Meldahl was a Danish architect and one of the leading proponents of 
historicism in Denmark and served as a member of the Municipal 
Council of Copenhagen Municipality for 27 years. In this time he was 
                                                 
2 "Copenhagen Fire, 1728." Museum of London -. Accessed November 20, 2014. 
http://archive.museumoflondon.org.uk/Londons-Burning/themes/1437/1443. 
 7 
 
able to significantly influence the city’s growth. When the fortification 
wall of Copenhagen was demolished in 1876, Meldahl with his vision of 
creating a row of parks “applied all his energy to getting the huge 
green fortification terrain out of the hands of the Ministry of War, which 
wanted to see the land used for building,3”. Dismantling the 
fortifications and moving the capital area’s defenses further out from 
the city also allowed the city to expand, opening up the development of 
many of the other city districts of today’s Copenhagen.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
3 Stensgaard, Pernille, and Anne Prytz Schaldemose. Copenhagen-- People and Places. Copenhagen: 
Gyldendal, 2005. 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 2.05 Copenhagen 1650 
Figure 2.04 Copenhagen 1535 
Figure 2.06 Copenhagen 1850  
 9 
 
Figure 2.7 Copenhagen 5 finger Urban Plan  
Egnsplan  
In more recent years, the Finger Plan, “Egnsplan” of 1947 was 
developed by Steen Eiler Rasmussen for the Danish Town Planning 
Institute. The urban plan provides a strategy for development of 
Greater Copenhagen by addressing ten main concerns facing 
Copenhagen during the 1940’s: 
 
1. Industrialization 
2. Migration 
3. Mobility 
4. Health  
5. Energy 
6. Nature Preservation 
7. Food 
8. Waste 
9. Drinking Water 
10. Global War 
 
 
The design is based on five corridors of urban development along 
existing or planned suburban areas, which are then connected to the 
city center by train. The palm is placed over the dense city center from 
which the fingers radiate. Between each of the five fingers, the plan 
designated green wedges for farmland and recreational use.  
 
 
 
 
 10 
 
The evolution of Egnsplan 
Highway construction during the 
1960s encouraged the 
development of lower density 
single family housing in areas 
poorly served by public 
transportation, this “threatened 
the integrity of some of the Green 
Wedges.4” Today, growth and 
suburban sprawl have pushed the 
length of the fingers beyond their 
limits. Ørestad New Town is the 
newest linear development that 
has been added to 
Copenhagen’s urban fabric. The 
new town is being built over a 30 
year period, beginning in the 
1990s.  
                                                 
4 Fullerton, Brian, and R. D. Knowles. Scandinavia. London: P. Chapman Pub., 1991. 
Figure 2.9 Copenhagen's new development 
finger plan 
Figure 2.08 Copenhagen 7 finger Urban Plan 
 11 
 
People Oriented City Center 
 
“The process of pushing back cars and reclaiming streets and squares for 
pedestrians was done incrementally. In the city proper people have had time 
to change their patters of driving and parking into patterns of bicycling and 
using public transportation, Furthermore, the gradual pace of the 
transformation has given Danes the opportunity to figure out what role 
attractive public spaces can play in today’s society. The transformation of 
Copenhagen can be seen as an extensive pedestrianization scheme, but it 
could just as well be seen as a scheme for taming traffic, not only in the city 
center, but in a major part of the city.” 
 
Jan Gahl + Lars Gemzøe 
 
Over the past 50 years, Copenhagen has been making drastic 
changes to the city fabric in order to provide public spaces. “The City 
Architect of Copenhagen has described the architectural concept 
underlying the design of the public spaces in the core of the city as -
‘pearls on a string’. The individual squares along the city’s main streets 
have their own design and are connected by changing the material 
quality and character of the street surfaces of the streets between 
them.5” Today there are a total of 18 public squares in the medieval 
city center. 
                                                 
5 Gehl, Jan, and Lars E. New City Spaces. 3rd ed. Copenhagen: Danish Architectural Press, 2003. 
 12 
 
Copenhagen strived to control traffic and reclaim streets to create 
quality spaces for public use. Stroget and Staedet are two of the major 
pedestrian streets in the city center of Copenhagen. Stroget has a 
width of 10-12 meters and can handle about 145 pedestrians per 
minute.6 Straedet, is 8-11 meters wide and used to carry heavy traffic 
and public buses, but in 1989 it was “experimentally reclassified as a 
pedestrian priority street, meaning a street where pedestrians and 
bicycles have priority, but where cars may enter at low speed. The 
experiment worked well, and in 1992, the street was repaved and the 
sidewalks eliminated as in the rest of the pedestrian system.6 ” Over a 
period of four decades, many of the streets and squares in the inner 
city were gradually transformed into wholly or partially pedestrian 
spaces.  
 
The center of Copenhagen has a medieval street pattern and within it 
lay eighteen squares which have been stripped of parking spaces and 
returned to the public for recreational activities. About one million 
square feet once devoted to motorized traffic has been pedestrianized, 
“…the surfaces of streets and squares have been replaced with fine 
stone materials, and street lighting and furniture have been refined as 
well.6” This thesis proposes that Banegardspladsen becomes part of 
the pedestrian street and square network of Copenhagen. 
                                                 
6 Gehl, Jan, and Lars Gemzøe. New City Spaces. Copenhagen: Danish Architectural, 2003. 
Print. 
 13 
 
COPENHAGEN’S railLINE 
 
Existing railLINE 
Contrasting the efforts of the past 50 years, the train yard which was 
originally introduced at the edge of the medieval center in 1911, now is 
a scar in the city fabric. As the train tracks pass the Vesterbro district of 
Copenhagen, they act as a divider between the city and the waterfront. 
The train tracks then reappear after going underground through the 
Central Train station where they emerge through a series of voids in 
the city’s surface in Banegardspladsen and along the boulevard line. 
The rail line continues underground while following the contour where 
the fortification wall used to be located. The lines reappear on the 
surface of the city once they enter the Osterbro district, past the Ostre 
Anlaeg Park. Similar to the Vesterbro district, the rail line acts as a 
divider between the city and the waterfront to the east of the Osterbro 
district.  
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14 
 
New Metro City Circle Line 
 
In 2018 Copenhagen’s Central station will be connected to the metro 
line. It will cover 15.5 km, adding 17 additional stations around the city 
center. It has been predicted that by adding the additional metro line, 
the bus system within the city center will be replaced. The land 
excavated to create the tunnels for the metro line is being reused to 
expand Nordhavnen. Because of the additional metro lines coming into 
the central train station, there are plans to either add four additional 
tracks on a bridge over the existing train lines, or to locate them in a 
subterranean tunnel.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
           Figure 2.12 Transportation systems of the city center of Copenhagen with the 
new City Circle Line  
 15 
 
03_SITE 
 
This thesis will focus on three specific areas of Copenhagen, the voids 
located in Banegårdspladsen and the Boulevard Line, north-east of the 
central train station. The initial need in the 1900’s to have ventilation voids for 
steam engine trains has been rendered obsolete with today’s new 
technologies. The three voids left today in Copenhagen’s city fabric celebrate 
layers of history of the city and allow the visibility of transportation movement 
through the subsurface of the city. The zoning opportunities and implications 
these voids can have on the entire development of Copenhagen enhances 
the importance of a major infrastructural transformation.  
 
Figure 3.01 Aerial view of Copenhagen highlighting sites of intervention. 
 16 
 
 
 
The transformation of these voids has been considered and questioned by 
the city of Copenhagen in the past. A task force comprised by DSB, 
Denmark’s railway company has studied the possibilities of building on top of 
these sites at the North Port and the Central Station. Congruent with my 
decision of focusing on these specific sites, the City of Copenhagen also 
identified them as areas with potential for development, affirming the reality 
and importance of this thesis exploration.  
 
Figure 3.02 Sites Identified by Copenhagen for development and explored on this thesis. 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Figure 3.03  Diagram showing multiple layers of the site 
 
 
 
Feasibility Study 
Given the fact that the site has one of the largest development 
opportunities with such a central location in Copenhagen, a taskforce 
formed by Copenhagen’s municipality, DSB and Railnet Denmark (the 
sites owners), as well as the neighborhood community, created a 
guideline of how to develop the area explored in this thesis. The 
opportunities, potentials and limitations were defined in order to 
provide a base line for future development for the site and at the urban 
 18 
 
level. The unique location of the sites makes it essential to relate to the 
spaces and activities the city needs for this site. The feasibility study 
was done in a process that focused first on the economical and 
construction issues.  
 
The study makes it clear that it is critical to address the highly 
trafficked streets around the site and to address one of the city’s 
busiest transportation hubs, especially because the introduction of the 
Metro City Ring will cause a radical new change in the traffic pattern in 
the immediate area around the railway’s voids. It also states that the 
proposal should include social and functional considerations, keeping 
in mind the opportunities and consequences for the city as a whole.  
 
The need for a well-organized and attractive arrival space for 
Copenhagen via the central train station is described as having a 
strong impact on how Copenhagen is perceived by tourists and other 
visitors in the city. The development could help with the city’s 
functionality by providing new services, better conditions for public 
transportation as well as for pedestrians and cyclists.  
 
Among the programs proposed for Banegardspladsen are a visitor 
center and bicycle parking. The development of the site has the 
potential to become a new landmark for the city of Copenhagen (due to 
 19 
 
it’s central location). This thesis will take all the guidelines and 
structural restrictions into consideration in designing a proposal.  
 20 
 
 
Figure 3.03 + Figure 3.04 Diagrams form Copenhagen’s task force identifying selected sites    
 21 
 
 
Figure 3.05 Diagrams form Copenhagen’s task force identifying projected cost of 
development. 
 
Figure 3.06 Diagrams form Copenhagen’s task force’s structural analysis for the sites. 
 22 
 
Alternative Proposals in the Feasibility Document 
  
 
 
Figure 3.06 + Figure 3.07 Alternative Proposals by Copenhagen’s Task Force. 
 23 
 
BANEGARDSPLADSEN + THE BOULEVARD railLINE 
 
Existing Conditions 
Overlooking the city’s 
rai lway system, 
Banegårdspladsen is 
current ly an underut i l ized 
space at  the city’s largest 
t ransportat ion hub.   
Surrounded by historical 
structures such as the 
Central Train Stat ion by 
Heinrich Wenck (1911), 
The Liberty Memorial 
(1779), SAS Royal Hotel 
by Arne Jacobsen (1956), 
City Hall by Mart in Nyrop 
(1905) and tourist 
attract ions such as Tivoli ,  
this site has become a 
great opportunity for the 
development of a public Figure 3.09, Figure 3.10 + Figure 3.11 Current Site 
Conditions 
 24 
 
space. 
Commonly referred to as the world’s most expensive hole, 
the 47,700sqft void was init ial ly bui l t  in 1911 to vent the 
exhaust steam from the steam engines before they entered 
the stat ion. 
 
More than 3,500 bicycles  park alongside Central Stat ion 
every day. Almost 8.8 mil l ion train t ickets are sold yearly 
and about 2,000 employees work at the Grand Central 
Stat ion. Today,  the Central Stat ion, the main 
transportat ion hub, lacks suff icient bike parking and an 
outdoor gathering space to accommodate the vast number 
of  users.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 3.12 Transportation Diagram 
 25 
 
04_OPPORTUNITIES FOR INTERVENTION 
 
To understand the opportunities for development on the sites, I began to 
examine the surrounding public spaces found along the main pedestrian 
street in the historic center of Copenhagen. The study revealed that extending 
the pedestrian connection towards the central train station would allow 
Banegardspladsen to become an important node and addition to the thread of 
spaces currently existing in the city. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In addition, it was important to examine the major connections to the site from 
the adjacent neighborhoods to better understand where the key moments of 
connection needed to occur. 
 
Figure 4.01 Study of adjacent public spaces 
 26 
 
 
 
Figure 4.02 Diagram of potential connections to adjacent public spaces 
 
An alternative connection to consider is the green link to the parks 
established after the fortification wall was removed. To establish a connection 
to these parks, and make them accessible for the train users to enjoy these 
amenities, is one of the goals of this proposal.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 27 
 
05_DESIGN APPROACH 
 
The design examines major opportunities and constraints of the site and 
develops a strategy to mitigate the issues and provide Copenhagen with 
community spaces that are integrated with the urban fabric. 
 
Figure 5.01 + Figure 5.02 Current site conditions 
 
The Banegardspladsen void is currently surrounded by highly congested 
vehicular streets. Once you exit the station, instead of having the opportunity 
to linger in a plaza you are only a few feet away from the taxi pick up area 
and parking. The lack of space in front of the station leads to a sidewalk 
overcrowded with parked bicycles.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 5.03 + Figure 5.04 Design proposal diagrams 
 28 
 
 
 
By extending the forecourt of the Central train station, and adding a street 
over the void, the experience of exiting and entering the station changes. Not 
only is there more space to park bicycles, but there is an area of stasis in 
which people can wait, meet and gather. 
 
Figure 5.05 Design Proposal Diagram 
 
By pedestrianizing one of the streets around the station, the vehicular 
circulation around the station is reduced and pedestrian access is increased. 
The pedestrianization of streets has been historically successful in the city of 
Copenhagen. Gehl and Gemzoe explain in their book Public Spaces Public 
Places that “Whereas city centers in many other places in the world have 
deteriorated over the years- becoming noisy, heavily trafficked places that are 
rather unpleasant and at times frightening to be in- Copenhagen has followed 
a different path. The city center has improved year by year, becoming more 
and more used and appreciated.” While this might be true for the medieval 
 29 
 
space of the city, the Metropolitan zone has been neglected. The same 
principles that have been applied to the medieval city center can carry over a 
few blocks south west to continue the same character that Copenhagen has 
successfully established. 
 
 
Figure 5.06 + Figure 5.07 Design Schemes 
 30 
 
 
           
 
Sectional studies were done to understand the vertical layers of the site and 
explore the programs that would best work for the site.  
 
The site in which these voids are located is extremely diverse in its urban 
function. There is transportation as well as cultural and entertainment districts 
in the city. Tschumi explains in his book Event-Cities “The juxtaposition of 
function, scale and historical time in contemporary culture is not a negative 
Figure 5.08 + Figure 5.09 Sectional schematic Design 
 31 
 
phenomenon but belongs to the logic of a new urban society.” So with the 
multiple events occurring in the site, I determined that the programing for this 
proposal had to serve both visitors and local people. It had to be practical and 
allow for movement but at the same time create spaces of stasis.  
 
The design proposal includes a series of buildings and a bicycle and 
pedestrian path that weaves underground and moves you through the voids 
as you explore the history of trains in Copenhagen and enjoy its 
transportation culture. 
 
Tschumi explains in his book Event-Cities “Can a new urban strategy 
encourage a new type of Architecture? Reciprocally, can one invent an 
architecture capable of generating a new urban lifestyle?” pg. 41 An 
interactive, real life/ real time experience that begins to redefine what a 
museum should be. The visitors are able to have “the Copenhagen 
experience” and the locals are provided an alternative transportation corridor 
that allows a dynamic, direct and safe connection through the city.  
 
 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 
Figure 5.10 Urban Plan of Design Intervention 
 33 
 
 
The proposed museum includes exhibits displaying the history of bicycles and 
bicycle technology in the city, pedestrian urban changes in the historic city 
center as well as underground exhibits of the regional and s-train history. 
 
Figure 5.11 Design Intervention 
 34 
 
 
 
 
 
The first building you encounter is the visitor center at Banegardspladsen that 
in addition has a restaurant on the train track level. The program was 
established by taking into consideration the analisys of the community, 
municipality and site owners. 
 
 
 At the building’s core, there are two eco-cycle parking silos like those 
currently used in Japan, the most advanced technology for bicycle parking 
that exisits in the world. These silos can each hold 200 bicycles, absorbing 
1/3 of the need for bicycle parking that is currently lacking in the Metropolitan 
Figure 5.12 Section perspective diagram through Banegardspladsen 
 35 
 
Zone. In addition 6 other silos have been strategically proposed throughout 
the area to provide a total of 1600 safe and covered bicycle parking spaces.  
 
 
Figure 5.13 Proposal for Eco-cycle Bicycle Parking locations 
 
 
 36 
 
 
Figure 5.14 Section through underground train history exhibit 
 
While continuing on the pedestrian and bicycle path that leads you 
underground to the track level, you can experience a historic train exhibit 
while also viewing the modern trains drive by adjacent to you. 
 
 
Figure 5.15 Section through outdoor screening and cinema 
 
The intervention also proposes spaces that by being located adjacent to key 
existing buildings are able to enrich the experience. As an example, outdoor 
seating space located in front of an existing movie theater allows for the 
 37 
 
opportunity of the façade of the movie theater to be used for outdoor 
screenings.  
 
Figure 5.16 Section through proposed museum 
 
At the opposite end of the intervention from the train station there are two 
buildings. One building is a proposed museum building that exhibits the 
history of bicycles and their use in the city of Copenhagen as well as 
providing access to additional exhibits for historic trains at the train track level. 
 
 
 
Figure 5.17 Section through community building and adjacent/existing concert venue 
 
The second building program includes community activities such as daycares. 
Given the fact that there are 20,000 people working in the Metropolitan Zone 
and no childcare options around the area, it is appropriate to host that type of 
 38 
 
program in the intervention. In addition, the building is strategically located 
adjacent to a concert venue, where the community can take advantage of 
rooftop access and enjoy the performances next door as an extension of the 
venue. 
 
ͷΚΘΦΣΖ͑ͦͩ͑͟͢·ΚΖΨ͑ΠΗ͑ΡΣΠΡΠΤΖΕ͑·ΚΤΚΥΠΣ͑ʹΖΟΥΖΣ͑ΒΟΕ͑ͳΒΟΖΘΒΣΕΤΡΝΒΕΤΖΟ͑
 
Figure 5.19 View of proposed Pedestrian and bicycle path 
 39 
 
 
 
Figure 5.20 Proposed Intervention 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 
06_CONCLUSION 
As previously mentioned, technological advances are constantly altering our 
urban fabric. Infrastructures are especially vulnerable to these changes and 
must constantly adapt, or they become overlooked and abandoned, creating 
negative spaces in the urban form are merely used for utilitarian purposes.  
 
How can the three voids in the Metropolitan Zone of Copenhagen contribute 
to the linking and place making that the district desperately requires? I believe 
this design proposal creativly accomplishes the creation of connections and 
public space making in the heart of the city.  
 
This thesis explores the question of how we appropirate and adapt urban 
infrastructure to enhance public spaces. It focuses on the train voids found in 
the Metropolitan Zone of Copenhangen, Denmark. By proposing a design that 
incorporates not only the residents of Copenhagen, but in addition, the 
visitors to the city, this intervention would have a high impact on the district.  
 
Finally, by making the decisions to cover a minimal area of the voids rather 
than covering and developing the whole site, one is able to celebrate the 
history of a scar that informed the urban fabric as it is today. The voids are 
able to be connected through the multiple layers of the city while still retaining 
their character. 
 41 
 
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