24 Nov 2022
Topping Out at Living Places Copenhagen
Enemærke & Petersen, DSB, Fælleshaverne, VELUX, Copenhagen Municipality, EFFEKT, Croneborg, MOE
The partnership behind Living Places Copenhagen marked an important milestone with a Topping Out ceremony for the project on 18 November. With environment and climate high on society's agenda, the partnership joined forces to demonstrate in practice how construction can contribute to the green transition. We show this through prototyping seven pavilions based on new criteria applied to existing materials and technologies.
"Living Places Copenhagen is the prototype of Living Places concept; here we gain experiences and learnings, positive as well as negative, which we share with the industry and stakeholders. We want to drive a development towards sustainable construction that is scalable for the entire sector, both in terms of processes and solutions that can be used in construction on a larger scale,"
says Lone Feifer, Director of Sustainable Buildings at The VELUX Group.
The construction is in Jernbanebyen, the old rail district in central Copenhagen, and has now progressed so far that the partners came together to celebrate the work of the craftsmen
As part of the Jernbaneby consortium, which is about to develop the new district Jernbanebyen, DSB Ejendomsudvikling CEO, Søren Beck-Heede shared his thoughts on the progress of Living Places Copenhagen:
"At DSB, we are pleased to be able to help support the development of new, more sustainable building materials and thus contribute to a more unique and green urban environment. I look forward to VELUX and DSB jointly reaping the results of this collaboration and thus helping to create Copenhagen's new green district.”
The Topping Out ceremony featured three wreaths, two green and one dried, comprised of natural materials which are hung to represent the stakeholders of the building. The two green wreaths, made of branches from forsythia, mirabelles and blackthorns, were tied with hawthorn, ivy and wild rose. The dried wreath was made of cornus alba and decorated with grasses, potato balls and purple limonium.
Fælleshaverne , who will help develop the outdoor areas at Living Places Copenhagen, were also on-hand to share seeds with the attendees to create biodiversity that you will be able see, feel, smell and taste at Living Places Copenhagen in 2023.
The seeds are:
- Honey herb – insect-friendly, promotes microlife, edible
- Purple pole bean – decorative, beautiful, fast growing, tall, unique because they cannot typically be bought in stores and create beautiful flowers before harvest
- Flower cress - edible, both leaves and flowers, very decorative, easy to grow in both large and small pots and known from modern gastronomy.