Guldbergs Plads

A playful landscape

A range of grassy hills come together to form a playful landscape where one can play tag, tumble or ride a toboggan down a hill, go exploring or simply soak up the sun while reading a good book. Large areas of tall meadow grass undulate across the mown grass hills, creating a visually aesthetic layer of urban nature across the site.

A nature experience in the heart of Copenhagen’s Nørrebro district

Scattered along the hills are larch and chestnut trees along with blue metal poles, all of which come together to form a novel kind of urban forest. The trees create a shifting character and atmosphere in the park as the seasons pass, with their crowns changing from a bright green in spring to yellow in autumn and going bare in the winter months, bringing nature into the heart of the Nørrebro district.

Activities for ‘exercise-averse’ adults

The 200 blue poles form the framework for the park’s new activities, which have been designed in collaboration with the local residents of the area. All the activity spots and tools were designed to be enticing ‘exercise-averse’ adults: A swing valley, 3D climbing maze on a tall rubber hill, a collection of booms in varying heights, a grove with gymnastics rings and a demarcation of different routes through the park. The numerous extra poles in the park can also be used for other purposes such as hammocks, hanging colourful lamps for street parties or a clothesline for the local flea market.

Reinvigorating the area

The transformation of Guldbergs Plads has been hugely popular among the locals, with 400% more people visiting it today than prior to the transformation. In other words: Nearly five times as many people in 2015 as before the transformation. On a weekday in the summer, an average of 20 people an hour visit the urban space during the daytime. The number of visitors peaks around 10am, where there are lots of children playing in the park, but playful adults can also be spotted there later in the day.