Day 3 (March 30) - Elegance is Knowing When To Stop.

 

Here is another story from St. Annie's Plads. This street was selected for a climate resilience project because when Copenhagen had a 1000+ year storm (a 'cloudburst'), it flooded really, really badly. This area of Copenhagen is home to both many basements and many art galleries. After the cloudburst, there were insurance claims for over $1 billion USD. 

The project was designed to keep the more frequent storms safely below the surface in the combined system, but in the event a 100 year storm, surface flooding would be concentrated in the middle of St. Annie's Plads, and only be up to 10cm deep (~4 inches) at the building facades. In other words, now that the project is complete, they expect that next time it rains really, really hard, water should flow down the middle of the plaza like a slow river with shallow water on the sides where it is still safe to walk or drive.

As with all projects, there is a low point. In St. Annie's Plads, the low point is at a corner in front of a building. On that corner, there is an entrance to a restaurant that is located in the basement of the building. The designers worked hard to develop a design that would protect the building on this corner to the same level as the rest of the project area. When the cost estimates came in, the added infrastructure needed to solve for the low point was $1 million additional USD. The team decided the most elegant thing to do was save the money for the project as a whole and create a site specific solution for the low point. They warped the paving up around the entrance to the restaurant, creating a berm that will keep flood waters out up to the 100 year storm (see picture). 

Sometimes providing the same level of service doesn't look the same for every customer. Sometimes elegance is knowing when to stop. 

 

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Child’s play - Alongside the utilitarian of pipes, ponds, pumps and protection at Tåsinge Plads and other water management projects around Copenhagen we can also find:

A teeter to totter...that also operates a water pump.

A hill to climb...that keeps excavations on site and infrastructure less visible.

An invitation to sunbath...that shares space with a hatch.

A hole to explore...that also conveys flows.

And a place to bounce...that could go...?

Impact doesn’t take much...just the ability to ask and see. That work takes intentionality and practice.

 
A grand gesture isn’t the only way to convey multiple benefit...small acts and simple details are enough. That work takes care and focus.

 

     Teeter to Totter      Hill to Climb

Invitation to Sunbathe    Hole to ExplorePlace to Bounce