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.

 

Bike parking

Nørreport station is currently undergoing a major renovation. It is the busiest train station in the country, serving 165,000 people daily. The rebuilding will take place between 2011 and 2014.

While this is happening the streets around the station has been closed of to traffic and parking has been made for bicycles as this photo shows.

-RS

The prize in today's voting!

Some of our readers might wonder about the organisation of the Danish Parliament as seen in the photograph of the day.

The Danish parliament (‘Folketinget’ in Danish) consists of one chamber with 179 seats – 175 seats in Denmark and two each for the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

Of those seats, 135 are distributed through proportional representation in the 10 constituencies. Constituencies have as few as two representatives (Bornholm) and as many as 20 (Zealand Constituency).

An additional 40 seats are allotted based upon the total distribution of votes in three voting regions – Central and Northern Jutland, Zealand and Southern Denmark and Greater Copenhagen.

This is what today's voting is about!

Going Green

The economy is the star of the 2011 election but there are a number of other issues that will play important supporting roles. One of these is the Climate. In a country where the effects of global warming can have catastrophic results people are much more aware of this than else where.

These days, saving the climate is as much a matter of ‘green growth’ as it is preventing the Arctic from melting, and discussions about the issue are carried out in the shadow of the overall economic situation.

In this election both sides seem to agree that the country can’t afford not to invest in sustainable energy, but blame each other for the lack of progress.

Cyclists seems to agree!

Posters everywhere!

No-one is safe from the Scourge of the Poster People it seems. Cyclists at Nørreport station whizz past these posters daily on their way to and from home.

Danish politics might seem rather polarized to outsiders and Danes love to complain about their politicians. Yet consensus, a strong belief in democracy and one of the highest voting turnouts still dominate Danish elections.

It seems that these posters are more a way for parties to draw attention to their good-looking candidates than their policies.

Rushing to vote?

Danes love their democracy. In international studies, Denmark usually ends up in the top three of countries where people are most satisfied with their system of governance. The average voting turnout is usually between 83 and 89 percent, which is among the highest in the world.

Around 170,000 people (4.5 per cent of voters) are members of a political party, also a high number compared to other countries.

Are these people rushing to go voting? Not really, I took the photograph during rush hour!

The Young Ones

Attracting young voters have been a key priority of the parties fighting the 2011 election here in Denmark. The use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter is ubiquitous and the message seems to say "An informed public is the basis of legitimate government."

Many young candidates are in line to be selected to the Folketinget and this will change the demography of the decision makers even more.

Cirkus Elephant

A cirkus elephant on Gammeltorv.

White Elephant

The elephants can be used for many things. Here as a place to put your bicycle...

Save the Elephants

Outside Copenhagen City Hall this elephant stands tall.

Black Elephant

The black elephant here stands just outside the Palads cinema complex.

Sad Eyes

These elephant eyes are looking at the entrance of Tivoli.

Family Group?

On and around the square of Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen the Elephant Parade has placed eight of the elephants, maybe as out of convenience or maybe because they know that elephants are social animals.

Elephant Blocking

It can be difficult to place 103 elephants in a city without some of them being in the way of the daily life. This one is placed in a side street of the pedestrian area of Strøget.

Indian Elephant

On Amagertorv this Indian inspired elephant sits with it's back to the Stork Fountain.

Super Hero Elephant

The Super Hero elephant here on Højbro Plads seems ready to storm the Danish Parliament. Maybe he too is tired of the idiocy coming from there...

Red, Blue and Green

I just love the eyes on this elephant's leg.

Hunting the Elephants

For now I'm back on the blog and many thanks to Ricco for his participation. He might make an appearance again before long:-)

As Ricco has told, Copenhagen has been invaded by a lot of elephants this summer, 103 of them to be exact. And it's not because the climate changes has moved their habitat to northern Europe. No, these elephants are made of fibreglass and decorated by various artists before they were placed around the city. They are part of the Copenhagen Elephant Parade 2011 which, like the ones in London and Milan, are going to be auctioned off and the money used for the elephants in Asia. I'll show you some of these elephants in the next couple of weeks, just pictures and perhaps very short texts. Today's elephant with the Danish flag on is overlooking the entrance to Tivoli from the central station.

In Prison

The message of the plight of these animals are very aptly described in this artist, Janni Mai Larsen's work entitled "In prison". It is placed near the parliament buildings on Nikolaj Plads.

What's Up?

Approximately 150,000 Asian elephants have died within the past 25 years and today there are fewer than 35,000 of these animals left in all of Asia. These brightly coloured and fantastic pieces of art brings the message of conservation to Europe.