Nørreport Station is the busiest station in Denmark with roughly 250,000 people bustling through it daily. The new Nørreport Station is composed of a series of rounded, floating roofs, mounted on striking glass pavilions. A study of pedestrians’ preferred routes has formed the basis for the station’s new design, providing an open and welcoming public space with specific thought directed to the flow and needs of cyclists and pedestrians.

Nørreport Station is one of Copenhagen’s central arteries for cyclists and more than 20,000 cyclists pass through Nørreport every day. Not only does this demand an extremely optimized traffic flow around the station, but bicycleparking also becomes a key design parameter. Therefore, ample bike parking is a main feature accommodating 2,500 parking lots for bikes. In order to create a clear hierarchy between the area for bicycles and the area for city life, all bicycle parking is placed 40 cm below the city floor - as sunken ‘bicycle beds’.

Nørreport Station is also a traffic hub for the city's public transport, combining regional trains, S-trains, and Metrolines, as well as a major bus terminal. The old Nørreport Station was worn down, the air quality was poor, and passengers had to cross busy roads to access the station. Therefore, a central element for the new Nørreport station has also been redirecting the traffic flow and limiting the traffic lanes to only one side of the station.

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark

Client: City of Copenhagen

Program: Renovation of Nørreport Station

Size: 10,500m² urban space, 2,500 parking lots for bikes

Status: 1st prize in international competition 2009, construction start 2012, completion mid-2015

Collaborators: Gottlieb Paludan Architects, Sweco, Bartenbach LichtLabor