Intervention: Catalyst & Connection

Location: Dybbølsbro, Vesterbro Railyard, Copenhagen, Denmark

• INTERVENTION AT VESTERBRO RAIl YARD
  
  The site is the rail yard at Vesterbro, Copenhagen. The area covers more than 50 acres between Vesterbro (one of the most densely populated districts in Copenhagen) and the new harbor development areas called Kalvebod Brygge and Sydhavnen. The site is bounded by railways on the northern and eastern sides and a main traffic road on the southern side, thus effectively cutting Vesterbro off from the harbor. Due to relocation of several of the railroad tracks the area has a lot of potential for development. The site contains many old railroad administration buildings worth preserving.
  
  The objective was to create an intervention in the area meant to have a catalytic effect on the development of the site and connect the harbor to existing parts of Copenhagen.

As Copenhagen has grown during the last 50 years as people have migrated from the country side to the cities, the need for more residential capacity has increased considerably. At the same time the need for cargo trains running all the way to the Copenhagen Central Station has disappeared. In the year 2030, most of the remaining undeveloped areas of Copenhagen will have finished their transformation into living neighborhoods, and the old rail yard will emerge as one of the last undeveloped patches of land in Copenhagen, and possibly the most attractive with its location just south west of the city center, wedged in between Vesterbro and the Copenhagen waterfront.

Though most of the railroad tracks will be dismantled, there will remain at least two to four tracks on the northern side of the site, running along Vesterbro and down along the eastern edge. The only current way to cross the site is by Dybbelsbro Bridge, going from a train station and ending directly at the main entrance of the huge shopping mall Fisketorvet, and a small bike lane that goes from east to west. Access to the site itself is also difficult, as the trains and the southern heavy traffic road isolates that site.

My proposal for an intervention with a catalytic effect on the site and effectively connecting Vesterbro with the harbor contains two parts: The first is a transformation of Dybbelsbro Bridge, and the second is the creation of a new canal.

The main idea behind the transformation of the bridge is that it should not just lead right into the entrance of a shopping mall. It should be an experience to both cross over and under it and make it easier to access the site while connecting Vesterbro directly to the Copenhagen harbor. Therefore, the bridge which is already divided in two, will have all heavy traffic redirected to the North Western part, and all pedestrians and cyclists to the South Eastern part. The South Eastern part will be covered with grass and towards the end of the bridge, a terraced landscape will lead down and land on the site. Below the landscape / bridge will be a multifunctional cultural institution, with independent art cinema, outdoor theater, bar, restaurant, spa and a platform providing the option to swim in the canal. The building will be directly accessible from both the bridge and the site, making it easy for people to freely flow to and from the site, both through and on the building at their choosing.

The canal will run from the Southern edge of the site, making its way to the North passing along the old beautiful buildings worth preserving for future development, to the Intervention site and under the bridge, before joining with the Copenhagen harbor once again.

Subsequent master planning of the Vesterbro Rail Yard will followed in the 6th semester, and the bachelor project, Kunsthal København, was designed in the context of that master plan, Dissolving the City.

- Chris Gotfredsen, 2010