Højere Taastrup
The city of the future is compact
- LocationHøje Taastrup, DK
- ProgramUrban development plan
- ClientThe Danish Architects' Association, Høje Taastrup Municipality
- Year2024
Højere [higher] Taastrup is a vision for the city of Høje [high] Taastrup in 2070 in which Open Platform explores architectural ideas for the future sustainable city. A future where humans and nature co-exist in harmony.
The project was among the ten winning proposal in an idea competition put out by the Expert Group for National Architecture Politics and the Danish Association of Architects, in a search for strategies to develop the city center of the suburb.
In the explanatory statement, the jury stated: "Højere Taastrup conjures up images of a city center where densification with nature can occupy the space that human activity no longer fills".
In 2070, the footprint of mankind is minimised, the urban agglomeration is high, the space left for nature is vast and all nature is interconnected.
The rules are simple: by building high and compact, we are able to free space for nature. Open Platform strongly believes, that only by committing to rules that limit human desire for growth and expansion, it will be possible to create a state of symbiosis between humanity and nature.
The Five Finger Plan from 1947, has worked as the overall guideline for the development of Copenhagen. But the fingers have grown too long and too fat - the green areas between the fingers are disconnected, and too narrow. A new more permeable Fingerplan is needed. A plan that provides bigger areas for nature within the city.
Circular zoning law
Naturegrowth starting points
Nearly all of Ethiopia’s original trees have disappeared, but small pockets of old-growth forest still surround Ethiopia’s churches, like living arks of biodiversity amongst the brown grazing fields. And just like these small oasis grows bigger turning dessert into forest, new circles of nature will grow from 3 existing parking lots in Høje Taastrup
