Tåsinge Square (Tåsinge Plads) is Copenhagen’s first climate adapted urban space. The new square accounts for the technical need for rain water management and is at the same time an investment in livability.
It was inaugurated in December 2014.
Tåsinge Square
Introduction
Quick Facts
• ca. 1000m2 asphalt unsealed
• recycling : 625m2 granite tiles & 600m2 cobble stone
• handles water from an area of 7000m2
The Path of the Water
Rainwater from the rooftops around the square flows into an underground retention basin right below the rain drop sculptures on the square. Some of the water is caught by the umbrella statues. When the tank is filled, the water flows across the square into an infiltration bed. If the bed is filled, the water can flow through the small openings into the larger beds.
Cloudburst Protection
The square protects an area of 7000 m2. The system delays water before it reaches the sewer and thereby prevents flooding. Some water infiltrates directly on the square. There is an emergency overflow to a cloudburst tunnel at the pointy end of the square.
The capacity of the central rain basins is used about:
• 10% every year,
• 25% every 25th year,
• 40% every 100th year
Rain Water Handling
Road runoff is not suitable for infiltration, among other things, due to the use of salt in winter. Water from roads and pavements therefore runs into planting beds, right next to the road. A layer of filter medium holds harmful substances back. During heavy rain, the water flows through the dome shaped grills into underground retention basins, before it reaches the sewer.
Project Partners
The project is one of the three partial projects forming ‘The Climate Neighborhood’. The Project was launched within the scope of a neighborhood renewal renprogram. Tåsinge plads is a shared project of the City of Copenhagen and HOFOR – Greater Copenhagen Utility. Further project partners were the neighborhod renewal office, which coordinated public involvement, the consultancies, viatrafik and ORBICON, as well as the architecture firm Third Nature.
