Langelands Square

Langelands Square in Frederiksberg (Greater Copenhagen) was recently renovated, as the city decided to integrate an underground parking garage with space for 207 cars, to free up space above ground. City and utility company decided to take advantage of the favorable opportunity and to implement two innovative climate solutions.

Visitors can easily see that Langelands Plads is a multi-functional urban space, which integrates various recreational functions. However, what is not visible to the naked eye, are the technologies, which provide protection from flooding and the negative effects of air pollutants. Large scale water buffers under the surface provide temporary storage for heavy rainfall and titanium oxide in the coating of the surface tiles breaks down harmful NOx, an air pollutant.

• 95% void space in Stonewool Water Buffers

• 10% of NOx bound in the square’s top layer

Conventional water buffers come with compromises. Either because they cannot carry the load of traffic surfaces, or because they have an unsatisfactory viod volume. Stone wool elements however might be the solution. The unique characteristics of stone wool fibers enable them to carry the same top loads as conventional sub-base layers. Furthermore do not need to be packed in geotextiles and they filter debris and dust from the water naturally.

The water-absorbing tiles on the square lead rain water to the underlying stone wool rainwater buffer. Their upper layer is coated with a titanium compound that filters NOx from the air that passes by, effectively removing about 10% of the NOx from the air above it.

The supplier Lapinus – part of ROCKWOOL Group – has made this video, which illustrates the challenges related to cloudbursts and how to handle large amounts of rainwater in a dense urban area like Langelands Plads with Rockflow.