Nørreport

Nørreport is the busiest urban transport junction in Denmark, and thus also Copenhagen’s most heavily used public space. In 2009, the municipality of Copenhagen held a competition with the goal to make both a concept for the entire area around the station and its connection with the city, as well as a concrete design for the station and the adjacent public space. ‘City Foyer’ is the submission by Karres en Brands and JAJA Architects for the closed international competition for Copenhagen’s new Nørreport Station.

The new station should add a quality public space to the city and provide a solution for the 2,500 bicycles that will be parked there. The most significant proposed intervention sounds simple: create space. Every day, more than 300,000 people use the station area as a transfer point, or as an entry point to the city centre. By keeping the area free from unnecessary obstacles as much as possible at ground level, an open and efficient public space emerges where all users—pedestrians and cyclists—are made to feel comfortable.

Bicycles are parked in a compact, stacked parking structure, which is simultaneously an icon and a landmark for the station. The new identity of the station will manifest itself further through the creation of space, extra comfort, and orientation capabilities. Nørreport Station will become a green, bike-friendly ‘foyer’ for the city of Copenhagen.