Some Kind of Monster

The stretch of inner Copenhagen motorway known as ‘Bispeengbuen’ has been an architectural outcast for quite some time now. 

The structural mass was relegated to the ‘monstrosity’ category and is deemed worthless by many. What happens if you instead peel away the prejudices and regard Bispeengbuen as a potentially attractive urban space? This is what students of the Art and Architecture master’s programme have been studying.

Their results chart a different vision for Bipeengbuen by highlighting the inherent magic of its chaos, downsides and residuals. Their scenario does not require the demolition of this stretch of motorway, but allows it to grow into an unknown future. The project restores Bispeengbuen, which used to be a living biotope comprising a meadow and an island in the centre of the city.

By proposing a housing scheme along one side of the curve, the project takes a critical stance regarding demolition of the city’s ‘imperfections’. Because what should we actually transform as we create a sustainable future? Is it inevitably our edifices? Or would it be better to reorient our deadlocked perceptions of what constitutes a healthy urban environment?

Students

Niclas Brøgger, Merete Lind Hansen, Karl Oscar Michail Helgesson, Cæcilie Holbech, Ditte Gyldendal Amby, Carl Emil Krogholm Augustesen, Asger Berthelsen, Anton Ljung Bladt, Signe Hyllested Olesen, Oliver Timm Bundgaard Gradert, Kasper Brix Havemann, Elspa Susanna Liengård, Rumle Rosenkrants Aamand Nakel, Tobias Hansen Rasmussen, Cora Linn Hopp Auganes, Oliver Fyllgraf Obitsø Kristensen