I have had a couple of field studies for my 20th and 21st Century Danish Architecture class recently that have allowed me to investigate the Danish architectural tradition in a Nordic context. In my European Urban Design Theories class I have also gotten a sense to explore how urban planning has become part of successful living strategies for the city. And now that I am finally able to draw my own conclusions from classroom to city I have to say that my favorite aspect and perhaps the main thief of my whose stolen my heart has to be Copenhagen´s scale/proportion. Things around here are not the vast sweeps on concrete found in every Miami boulevard. It´s not the disconnected neighborhoods from Pittsburgh or the monstrously tall buildings of New York. Life in Copenhagen is grounded. It´s drawn in and intimate. Streets are provocative. The human scale is relevant. Livability is important. Everyone is happy. I find this so incredibly charming, especially the aspect of the human scale. In particular, this aspect of scale and proportion has a strong cultural foundation and is one of the main defining elements of Nordic Functionalism as an architectural typology. Urban planning that has this need as a prerogative is a winning in my book. People need public spaces, so there are many of these in Copenhagen. So much so that the city is a mosaic of public parks, harbor baths, green spaces, plazas, pedestrian streets, and city squares. People need relatability, so that streets are never too big and buildings are not too tall. People need infrastructure, so that there are plenty of bike paths, side walks, benches, and trash cans. People need beers, so that you can drink anywhere and everywhere in the city. Copenhagen steals my heart once more because it knows I am a human.
Here are some of the places I visited during Field Studies in the neighborhood of Vestebro and Frederiksberg as well as other elements of the city that have caught my attention: