Trampolines at playgrounds- genius. What doesn’t a kid love more? And to top it off, who wouldn’t want to jump from one trampoline to another? As an adult who believes that we need to push ourselves beyond what feels comfortable- I too gave these a try and there’s only one word to describe the feeling- true joy.
The visit to Nordhavn was spurred on by the wish to visit the Pas Normal headquarters store and the opportunity to explore a less touristy part of Copenhagen. Another astonishing urban planning achievement- this area was entirely new build.
Traveling this time with children, it was time to add something that would let them do some exploring of their own. Finding a suitable playground is no simple task for the 8-12 year old bracket. Too old for many of the baby and toddler playgrounds- we hunted for one that would do the trick. The Danish are so family friendly- we knew that the urban planning had to account for older children still looking to play. And oh, did we find a killer playground.
While digital mapping services have come a long way, we do an excellent job to mark the x and y axis, but we still have a long way on the 3rd dimension of the z axis in vertical space. We arrive at the so called location on the map and we keep saying “it should just be here, like right here” and suddenly looking again at the pictures posted that the playground is above street level.
Many stories and stairs later- lo and behold there it is. A playground covering the expanse of the rooftop… with trampolines to boot. I think one of human’s greatest achievements is to take our lives into the sky- whether the sky scraper or the invention of flight- we seem to be drawn to the vastness of what’s above. I wonder though that as we move further from the ground that maybe somehow we analogously also move away from our relationship to nature (towards the machine?).
Worth noting is that the building itself was a thoughtful exercise as well- the screen material with green vegetation growing on, and likely eventually covering, the exterior. Ah! And I just remembered a fun detail heading to the top. At the bottom of the stairs is an ominous red button which was desperately calling out to be pushed, but also being red we refrained. We discovered at the top that the button starts a timer to count how long it takes someone to get to the top of the stairs – motivate for kids, for adults, for both? Love the experience built into something that seems like a chore- how to make the arduous fun? It’s a mindset.
The views from the rooftop are 360 degrees and give a great overview of the amazing breadth of architecture in the neighborhood. I wish the weather wasn’t spitting rain and windy because I think we would have spent a lot more time here. I don’t have more pictures of the playground itself to be respectful of the children there, but adult or child- if you are in this neighborhood, come find this playground. You’ll find yourself feeling a little lighter (inspired by the design concept), a little uplifted (on a rooftop) and a little filled with glee (jumping around trampolines).
Address: P-hus Lüders på Helsinkigade, Helsinkigade 30, 2150 København, Denmark
Website: JAJA Architects write up
ofallthespaces 