Humlebæk Syd

The Humlebæk masterplan should be an example on innovative sustainable urban development. Situated in an area that Humlebæk’s citizens have a great sense of belonging to as a recreational area and as access to the open countryside, the project has a great deal of public attention.

Development of a new sustainable district in a locally highly valued area poses both a big challenge and a great potential. But how can we, through a master plan, make sure that the scenic qualities are maintained and reinforced as a significant value for the area and its inhabitants and for the neighbours of the new district?

The master plan describes three focus areas, which together are to make sure that the landscape is reinforced; hence, the unique quality of the district becomes the scenic and recreational qualities:

Humlebæk’s entire nature park
A green wedge is kept free from building, as a publicly accessible, recreational landscape between two densified landscape neighbourhoods. The building structure in the two neighbourhoods is relatively close but porous. It both meets the residents’ wishes for possibility for individual expression and private-sphere in their homes while maintaining a low consumption of resources. Between the buildings people, water, animals and plants can continuously move through the area, out onto the large green wedge between Nivå and Humlebæk.

Humlebæk South is integrated with the existing Humlebæk
Activity space and venues (the health and culture axis) are established through a process that creates consistency from Sletten Harbor in the east to Kejserdalen (Emperor’s Valley) in the west, and integrates the outdoor space from the two neighbouring schools  to connect learning with nature experiences.

Sustainability in relation to the climate adaption and architectonic quality is ensured by enhancing the moraine landscape’s inherent qualities
New and expanded windbreaks form significant elements in the ice age landscape and constitute transport corridors for animals and plants; existing hollows are supplied with rainwater from houses and roads, forming local landscape spaces for people and habitats for animals and plants. Buildings are placed in the spaces between the tops and hollows, so they, together with the windbreaks, highlight the moraine landscape’s topographic space.

Excerpt from the jury report:

“We are dealing with a project with a very strong main idea that opens up to great development possibilities. The proposal is at once precise in its scenic and structural working while informally verging on the poetic in its overall story."

Facts:
PROJECT: Development plan of Humlebæk South - The suburb of the
future
YEAR: 2012
STATUS: Under development, decisive winner of open competition
in 2 phases
CLIENT: Fredensborg Municipality
LOCATION: Humlebæk
SERVICES: Lead consultancy services, design, strategy and
concept for development plan
SUB-ADVISORS: Grontmij