Outdoor service

 

The church seems to have been moved outdoor here to attract new customers in Ørestaden. It is of course nice with some life in the new areas, but I don't think many of the local residents were attending this service on this Saturday.

 

Where to put the bicycle...or not

 

Yesterday I showed you one parking solution for the bicycles of Copenhagen. This is another one, albeit probably not an approved one. Placing you bike where everyone has to squeeze pass it with prams, shopping backs and the like, will certainly earn you some nasty remarks.

 

Stacking the bicycles

 

Parking is a problem in Copenhagen, not only for cars but for bicycles as well. This is one, maybe impractical solution from Ørestaden.

 

A garden in town

 

Around Copenhagen there's a lot of gardens like this, where people living in the city in an apartment can rent a place to grow some of their own. This plot of land with small-scale agriculture is placed in Ørestaden and is fairly new, but others go back decades. Called kolonihaver in Danish they're are not easy to get, as the waiting lists of the most popular ones are thirty years or more long.

 

Tilting

 

The modern constructions in Ørestaden are nice to photograph as you can always find a new angle to catch. This one is from the Figure-8 building by BIG, and I've tried to catch the slanting lines so that they're horizontal instead.

 

Grey Copenhagen Time lapse

 

This summer in Copenhagen has yet to show some real summer weather for more than a few days. This time lapse was filmed over a few days of grey in the end of June.

Walking on water

Wherever new buildings rise in Copenhagen, canals and ponds are sure to follow. We like water in our cities in Denmark, maybe because we're used to having water around us all the time from an early age. Denmark is after all a country with a couple of thousands islands, and there's nowhere that is further away from the sea than an hours drive at most.

A matter of taste

The new residences in Ørestaden in Copenhagen divides people. To some it´s great with something different, to others it´s horrible. Taste is so difficult to discuss, but as long as there´s something for all people, and that is the case in Copenhagen, why go to such great lengths to discuss what's good taste and what isn't? People who live here love it, and if they don´t, I'm sure they'll be able to find something else.

Nature at the gate

If you live in the southern part of Ørestaden in Copenhagen, this is view you can get on a daily basis. Nature is literally at the gate, as Vestamager unfolds before your eyes.

Nature is just around the corner

This might not be true nature as defined by an area left alone by man, but it sure feels, smells and look the part. Just south of the newly developed area of Ørestaden in Copenhagen on the island of Amager is an area called Vestamager. With wide-open fields, meadows and small clusters of trees and bushes this reclaimed land is a popular area to go to if you need something green and unkempt around you.

Plug n play

 

One thing often criticized about the newly developed area of Ørestaden on Amager is that it lacks facilities for the residents. Now at the southern end a play area for the young and the young at heart has opened. Called Plug n Play it has a speed skating rink, a parkour area, a street soccer field, a dirt jump area and numerous other activities. And it's free for all to use.

 

Deer me

 

No, it's not Dyrehaven but Ørestaden, even if these deer seem a bit misplaced. This is part of a new trend in Copenhagen. Instead of having a long and boring fence that begs the local youth to be creative with a spray can, artists are asked to use the fences as a big canvas. I haven't been able to figure out who is behind the deer on this fence, but it is nice. The deer progress from an open white field to a dark forest as you pass the Bella Center.

 

Around the city

Yep, time for another time lapse video, this time from around Copenhagen (we start with the sunrise at Helsingør, though).

The Mountain

 

One of my favourite buildings in Ørestaden is this one, the VM Bjerget (Danish for mountain) finished in 2008 by BIG (Bjarke Ingells Group). The building is built like a mountain side with 1/3 of the space given to the apartments and 2/3 to parking space underneath. It won the category of World's Best Residence in 2008 at the World Architecture Fair in Barcelona.

Not always empty

 

The Copenhagen metro is not always as empty as this. There's usually a fair amount of people onboard hence the shift to less seatings and more standing room. These driverless trains are often the fastest way of crossing Copenhagen if one of the only two lines run near you and your destination. As told before the third line, which is under construction, will be a very needed addition to the system when it's ready in 2018.

8tallet

 

8tallet, the figure 8 in Danish, is a residence in the area of Ørestaden in Copenhagen. The building by architect BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) won the award for world's best residence at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona 2011. With a fantastic view over Amager Fælled combined with really nice architecture I guess this wouldn't be the worst place to live in Copenhagen, if you can afford the price.

 

Mirror image

The last of the Camera+ photos from now is this almost surrealistic one from DR Byen, HQ of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. In front of the entrance is a sculpture that I've showed you before, and using the Camera+ for iPhone and the So Emo effect on the reflection does make an impact.

Cleaning windows

When you build a 23 story high hotel with a lot of class façade you also need to clean the windows. At Bella Sky they use both a platform and abseiling cleaners. Not a job for the faint-hearted I think.

A leaning hotel

At the Bella Centre, the big conference centre on Amager in Copenhagen, the Bella Sky Hotel has been finished and is now open for business. The two towers are leaning more than the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, and with  its 23 floors, 812 designer rooms and 30 flexible meeting and conference rooms, the hotel is the largest hotel in Scandinavia.

A Big Golf Club?

Outside the DR's HQ in Ørestad in Copenhagen this steel sculpture resides, drawing quite a lot of curious people to it. The steel egg with an 18 meter high antenna is made by the German art group Inges Idee and is called Reciever. DR (Denmark's Radio) is the Danish public radio and television network.