Skip to content

News

Nature based solutions

Green Roofing Copenhagen

Strolling through Copenhagen, you may have encountered one of the 40 green roofs nested around the city. Coming in all scales and sizes, from cycle shelters, to schools and mixed use buildings to landscapes above underground garages, green roofs provide a unique opportunity to transform traditional surfaces into green life-giving oases. They lead to larger quantities of rainwater being absorbed in a sustainable way and can curb the rise in temperature at the same time. They also create habitats for animals and plants.

Green roofs policy and planning in Copenhagen

Back in 2008 the City of Copenhagen began focusing on alternative ways to handle rainwater and the Wastewater Plan 2008 became the first plan document that included approaches in that direction. In 2009 Denmark was in charge of the UN Climate Change Conference COP15 which defined the framework for the strategies that could be implemented to meet the challenges of climate change. During that period, the focus on green roofs intensified setting a goal for urban design with green roofs in the Climate Plan of the City of Copenhagen.

- Watch video: Liveable Cities – A Danish Approach

Since then Green Roofs have become integrated in different guidelines such as the guidelines for Sustainability in constructions and civil works, which mandates green roofs for all the municipalities buildings. Green roofs are also a part of the city’s Strategy for Biodiversity. Since 2010 green roofs are mandated in most new local plans. A calculation based on approved new local plans mandating green roofs gives a total of 200.000 m2 of green roofs to be installed.

- Explore Green Roofs on Copenhagen 

The case examples
The City of Copenhagen has collected a number of cases and local plans from residential commercial and public green roofs projects. Besides illustrating the cases through images and background information the publication also includes data on Roof Area, Build Cost, Client Name, Development Type, Architect, Landscape Architect and System Supplier. Included cases are:

Residential buildings

  • 8 – house 
  • Birkegade Penthouses
  • Nørrebrogade 184

Commerciel buildings

  • Nordre Toldbod 
  • The City Dune
  • The New National Archives
  • TCC – Hotel
  • HENKEL / Carl Jacobsensvej

Public buildings

  • Tagensbo skole 
  • The Library / Bispebjerg kulturhus 
  • Gyldenrisparken 
  • Korsgadehallen
  • Environmental centre

- Download the publication: Green Roofs Copenhagen

 

Source: Danish Ministry of the Environment / City of Copenhagen

You should consider reading

Nature based solutions

events

Urban planning and development

+16

Virtual launch: Urban green transition

13 September 2023
With the new white paper on “Urban green transition”, we have begun a journey to demonstrate why holistic and strategic city planning and development within mobility and infrastructure, climate adaptation, as well as environmentally conscious architecture and construction, must take cent

publications

Climate change adaptation

+4

Nature Based Solutions

5 March 2021
Using rainwater as a resource to create resilient and liveable cities

publications

Climate change adaptation

+11

Water for smart liveable cities

27 October 2020
How rethinking urban water management can transform cities of the future

News

Job creation and transition

+100

Sound of Green, a podcast series with insights from Denmark’s green transition

27 January 2023
From managing cloudbursts to setting up climate partnerships, we examine how Denmark has turned acute climate challenges into new opportunities. In our podcast series Sound of Green, experts convey how Danish experiences can push the needle toward global green transition. Find it on Spotify, Apple Podcast and stateofgreen.com.