Cloudburst Park in South Harbor

An innovative cloudburst project in Copenhagen’s South Harbor protects residents from basement flooding and promotes biodiversity with over 120 different plants.

Project description

In the central median of Scandiagade, a recreational park has now been established that can handle large amounts of rainwater. 1:1 Landskab designed the urban space. SYSTRA (formerly Atkins Denmark) provided the technical consultancy, and Nueva contributed with citizen involvement, which helped shape the park.

Eight basins for delaying rainwater

The median strip with beautiful old trees has been transformed into an innovative urban space with eight basins that can hold 1500 m3 of rainwater. When it rains, the basins delay the rainwater, preventing the sewers from overflowing. When it is dry, they open up for a multitude of activities.

The intensive citizen involvement is reflected in the eight basins, each with its own identity and recreational profile. Thus, there is a miniature forest playground, a butterfly garden, a beach basin with a hammock, a basin with utility gardens, a hilly landscape, a rock garden, a basin inspired by the famous Tippen area in Sydhavn, and an enclosed experimental garden where nature is allowed to unfold freely without human interference.

Above the basins runs a wooden walkway with neon yellow sides, giving the park a distinct identity.

As a sub-consultant to 1:1 Landskab, SYSTRA has contributed with construction engineering design as well as construction management and technical supervision – including, among other things, hydraulic calculations for the LAR project.