Gasværks Have – From schoolyard to pocket park

Gasværksvejens Skole in the heart of Vesterbro
The school has recently moved to new facilities, leaving the old buildings empty. The future use of the site has not yet been decided. There is an immediate need for a nursing home; however, the existing buildings are not suitable for this purpose. Combined with the discovery of PCB contamination, parts of the school are at risk of demolition.

Gasværks Have
My project Gasværks Have offers an alternative vision: it seeks to reimagine Gasværksvejens Skole by transforming the former schoolyard into a public green pocket park.The project explores the potential of shared green space by taking a "landscape first" approach.

Project Statement
This project explores how a pocket park can play a central role in the transformation of Gasværksvejens Skole and how a public garden can enhance accessibility, foster coherence, and serve as a new green meeting point for the neighborhood.

Site Conditions

Through thorough fieldwork, research, and conversations with local stakeholders, the site has revealed itself to be far more complex than initially anticipated. The following key conditions and challenges have been identified:

PCB
One of the main challenges in the H.C. Hansen extension is the presence of PCB levels exceeding 300 ng/m³. Long-term stays in these buildings are not recommended, and previous efforts to sanitize the area have not been sufficient to eliminate the health risks. Any future program must take this into account.

Access
The site remains naturally closed off due to its former function as a school, located in a neighborhood that was once more troubled than it is today. As a result, when imagining a new, more public program, the buildings appear closed off and uninviting.

The main entrance to the H.C. Hansen building is poorly defined—hidden behind garbage bins—making it unclear to visitors whether it is even an official entrance or just a backdoor.

Access to the old school building is no better. There is no clear connection between the facade facing the courtyard and the entrance. The first floor is elevated, and access is only possible via stairs at the gable. Although an elevator has been added, it is located at the back of the building, doing little to improve accessibility or the coherence of the site.

Terrain
The terrain is predominantly covered in asphalt, and the site is located in a low-lying area. As a result, all main buildings and basements are at risk of flooding during heavy rainfall. Additionally, the underground parking lot—which also functions as a set of emergency safety rooms—limits the natural seepage of rainwater, exacerbating drainage issues.

Strategy

As a framework for developing the pocket park, a focus in the project has been developing a strategy for the future use of Gasværksvejens Skole, considering: Preservation, Program, Users and Timeline.

Plants 

A focus throughout the project has been on plants. Due to the basement below ground level, the pocket park is ultimately a roof garden, which limits soil depth and the possibility of planting trees in most areas. The plant selection has been made to accommodate variations in sun and shade, varying soil depths, species native or suitable to the Danish climate, and to ensure diversity in structure, height, and color. Lastly, it aims to provide a beautiful color palette throughout all seasons.