Prøvestenen - A terrain vague of future becoming

PRØVESTENEN A TERRAIN

VA G U E

OF FUTURE BECOMING

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Prøvestenen A terrain vague of future becoming Martin Eriksson bzm421 30 ECTS points Master thesis in Landscape Architecture May 2021 Faculty of Science, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen Supervisor: Rikke Munck Petersen

PRØVESTENEN A terrain vague of future becoming

Prøvesten

PRØVESTEN A prøve-sten, or in English: a touchstone, is a black stone consisting of silica used to evaluate precious metals’ qualities (prøvesten — ODS, 2021).

Using this type of stone was one of the earliest methods for determining the quality of gold or silver. The metal was rubbed to the touchstone and then after adding an acid, it was possible to see whether it was a precious metal or not (Touchstone | metallurgy, 2021).

Keywords: test, examine, prove, indicate, identify This thesis is evaluating the future qualities of the island named Prøvestenen in the perspective of being a terrain vague of future becoming. In this manner, the thesis tests its potentials and future role by projecting sustainable design solutions interlinking soil remediation and landscape design.

ABSTRACT The master’s thesis is proposing a design for future development of the artificially built up island Prøvestenen. This is to suggest a design proposal for creating a new, more sustainable character on the island which today is known for being the stone, gravel and fuel storage of Copenhagen, also named Benzinøen. The island is through phases developed step by step at the same time as the existing industrial activity is being dismantled. The proposal is focusing on giving Prøvestenen a new, green identity and making it more accessible to its local context. Since the soil on the island is contaminated due to fuel storage, the proposal is built upon a strategy of soil remediation with vegetation as the main method.

By analysing Prøvestenen and its context through different mediums such as historical mapping, local plans, drawings, photographs and physical models, challenges and potentials for developing the island are presented.

The project proposes a design strategy. The strategy builds upon how to use vegetation, topography and the existing silos to transform the island into a green recreational park and an urban district in the future.

The proposal consists of three phases, where the transformations are gradually occurring in relation to the dismantling of the industrial activities. The design focuses on connecting Prøvestenen to its surroundings, creating a cohesive green infrastructure with various landscape characters, and preparing it for becoming a new urban district. This forms an interplay of soil cleaning with vegetation and landscape design. Since the project proposes seasonal removal of polluted biomass in some places and leaving the vegetation untouched in others, the green infrastructure functions as a medium to remove pollutions from the ground and simultaneously create spatial variations over time.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor Rikke Munck Petersen for her invaluable advice, inspiration and engaged supervision throughout the thesis project.

I would like to thank Rasmus Steenberger from Amager Øst Lokaludvalg for sending me useful information about Prøvestenen at the beginning of the project.

Thanks also to Thomas, Mette, Leah, Jonathan and Ry for their useful feedback and the other students in the thesis room contributing to a good work environment.

Many thanks to Isa for her encouragement and support all through my working process.

Lastly, I´d like to acknowledge the assistance I got from Erik to help build the boxes for transporting my physical models and Jens for taking them to Denmark.

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CONTENTS Abstract 7 Acknowledgement 9 I. INTRO

13

Motivation 15 Vision 16 Problem formulation

16

Method & approach

17

II. SITE PRESENTATION

21

Site and context intro

23

The history of Prøvestenen

25

The southern part emerging

27

Timeline 28

10

The current and future plans

31

Site presentation sum-up

33

III. SITE ANALYSIS

35

Prøvestenen: a terrain vague

37

Looking for potentials for future actions

39

Site observations

40

Motives of Prøvestenen today

48

Streets connections & barriers

50

Green and open spaces

51

Topography

52

Building structures

53

Section model 1

54

Section model 2

58

Site analysis sum-up

65

Fragment models

67

IV. SOIL REMEDIATION WITH VEGETATION

71

Contaminated soil

73

Cleaning contaminated soil

74

Phytoremediation 77 Working with phytoremediation

78

Plants often used in phytoremediation

81

Soil remediation with vegetation sum-up

83

V. DESIGN STRATEGY

85

Strategy scheme

87

Vegetation 89 Topography 97 The silos

107

Design strategy sum-up

117

VI. PROPOSAL

119

Masterplan 121 The Phases

122

Phase 1

125

Phase 2

131

Phase 3

142

VII. OUTRO

153

Discussion & Conclusion

154

VIII. REFERENCES 158

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I. INTRO

I. INTRO

13

Prøvestenen, Copenhagen Denamrk

Nordhavn Copenhagen city centre

Prøvestenen

Saltholm Amager

Peberholm

Prøvestenen along the coastline

The shape of Prøvestenen today 14

MOTIVATION Today we are living in an era called the Anthropocene, a geological epoch where humans are the dominant force on Earth, affecting ecosystems leading to climate change (Vince, 2020). The fact that cities are expanding with an increasing population adds to a bigger demand for residential houses and green spaces. By 2031 the population in the Copenhagen region is expected to increase by 100.000 inhabitants. The increasing population is leading to rising housing prices and putting more pressure on the need for green recreational areas (Københavns Kommune, 2019).

Others argue for a present post-Anthropocene position forcing us to engage in more balanced human- non-human relationships (Puig de La Bellacasa, 2017). The municipality of Copenhagen has a goal to become a carbon dioxide neutral city in 2025, which is requiring a drastic change in energy use. The use of fossil fuels has to be reduced and replaced with renewable energy, something the city is currently working on (Københavns Kommune, 2019).

A change in energy use will lead to a ceasing activity of old industrial areas and power stations. With an expanding city, these types of areas have a lot of potential being transformed and revisioned to get a new purpose and use.

This was something I thought was interesting and wanted to explore further. Since Copenhagen is growing and the need for green spaces is increasing, these types of ‘terrain vague’ areas can consist of qualities hard to find at other places even though they may appear rough and abandoned at first sight (ibid).

Prøvestenen, an artificially built up island located on the east coast outside Amager in Copenhagen has the main function of being an island where fuel is stored (Prøvestenen – Kend København, 2021). In the southern part of Prøvestenen, there is a large grassland area.

The island has a lot of potential of being a valuable ecological and recreational area, but even though it is located relatively close to the city centre, it appears to be disconnected from it.

The surrounding areas along Amager Strandvej are under an urban transformation, putting Prøvestenen into a new focus for its future use. In the summer of 2020, the municipality opened up the southern part of the island as a test project to use it as a recreational area, a project which is still ongoing (Prøvestenen Syd - By & Havn, 2021). Since Prøvestenen is now being opened to the public, it is of high value to study the potentials and future management of the island to develop it in a non-destructive way.

In the autumn of 2020, I heard about the term ‘terrain vague’ which is referring to informal green spaces on the outskirts of the city (Ørskov and Grathwol, 1992).

INTRO 15

VISION My intention with this thesis project is to develop a strategic framework and design proposal for how Prøvestenen can be transformed from being known as the fuel harbour of Copenhagen into a green recreational area over time. By considering local and municipal plans for Prøvestenen and its urban context, I will propose a future transformation of the island. This is to find out how Prøvestenen can be more accessible and better connected to the city and the local context of Amager. With inspiration from the existing characters and qualities of the southern part of the island today and the many silos on the northern part, I want to study how the rest of Prøvestenen can be developed in a sustainable way.

I want to work with a dynamic landscape transformation of Prøvestenen where changes are gradually emerging over time in relation to its surroundings.

The idea is to work with phases where the island in stages is being transformed. The phases will be applied to the island by dividing it into different zones where the landscape is being treated in various ways over a long time span. Some zones may need more treatment than others depending on the current conditions and future programming. By working with these phases, the existing use of the island as storage for fuel will step by step be dismantled and give room for a new green recreational area. By preserving historical and industrial structures but changing their use, scenarios, where the new landscape is countering the old and existing architecture of Prøvestenen, will occur. The coexistence of the new and the old will lead to a diversity in structures, materiality and age.

PROBLEM FORMULATION Considering the expanding city and public need for green spaces, I want to investigate the future potentials of Prøvestenen as an area positive for both human and nature. This will be done through the research questions:

How can Prøvestenen through landscape transformations be developed over time to change its identity?

How can the change take place with a focus on soil reclamation using vegetation as the main remediation method?

FRAGMENT MODELS

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The landscape

The freely created

The paved imprint

The object

The figure and element

- existing and ‘untouched’

- desire paths through the grassland

- more processed

- benches and edges

- space-defining

METHOD & APPROACH Theoretical inspiration My working process and design proposal are supported by the theories mentioned in this section.

Fragment models To get inspiration for the design process, the fragment models are used as a tool to understand the existing and possible future characters on Prøvestenen. The fragment models are showing principles of the processing level of the landscape categorized in the spectrum from a ‘natural’ character where spontaneous vegetation can occur to a more programmed landscape with gravel paths, paving or outdoor furniture and spatial objects. The different fragments can be placed and applied on Prøvestenen and by that create a difference of how processed/designed and also how ‘untouched’ the island will be.

Theory of objects The danish sculptor Willy Ørskov formulated a theory of how to view objects, both large and small, with a focus on how to study their certain characteristics and becoming built-in relations.

This was because he was arguing that what we see at eye-level perspective is naturally of high value to us and a part of our contemporary society (Ørskov, 1972.p11). The theory of objects is therefore not directly focusing on observing the shapes of physical objects. It is also about viewing things as components of our society with various social contexts (Ørskov, 1972.p.32).

There are several aspects to be considered when studying objects. Ørskov (1966.p.76) is taking up these perspectives of viewing objects as:

Value

Function

social moneymakeing moral practical abstract

Form

geometric aesthetic sculptural

Symbol

figure indication sign

History (in relation to)

time persons events

These aspects are crossing each other when studying an object, and some may appear more prominent than others. Viewing an object, and even a landscape, in this extended way is an intellectual, sensory and emotional perception of it (Ørskov, 1966.p77).

The object theory is in this thesis used as an inspiration for the design strategy of the future development of Prøvestenen.

The design strategy in this project is based on how to work with three categories consisting of: 1. using vegetation as a soil remediation tool and space defining element, 2. woking with topography, 3. transformation of the silos.

The theory of objects is utilized as a guide for making design decisions mainly regarding these three categories, but also to think of the whole island as an object affected by numerous factors.

Different ways of how these aspects will be treated in the design proposal are explained in the following pages.

INTRO 17

Since a big part of Prøvestenen has contaminated soil due to the storage of oil and petrol, methods of how to work with soil cleaning will be studied (Jordforurening, 2021).

Mapping Site analyses of Prøvestenen and its context is done in various scales, from an urban planning perspective, but also on the island itself. This is to get a deeper understanding of the current status and possible future potentials for the island. The analysis consists of diagrams and maps focusing on different aspects, photographs from site visits and physical models along with texts describing the existing conditions.

Historical elements Historical mapping of how Prøvestenen has developed over time is studied to get a deeper understanding of its current appearance. It is done by studying old maps, texts and areal photos to put together in a timeline.

Photography To visually show how the site is represented today photos from my site visits are used. The photos are edited in black and white to enhance the contrasts and shapes of the landscape.

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Model studies Physical models are used as a tool for analysing shapes and structures. The model studies are a way of starting my design process and exploring the potentials of the project. Along with the photographs and maps, this is also a way of analysing the non-accessible parts of Prøvestenen.

The physical models are helping me to develop my architectural ideas since new unexpected solutions may arise. The physical models are used as a research medium, not only to create forms but to analyse the site and study relationships between objects and the landscape (Seelow, 2017).

Drawing Drawing is a tool that is used throughout my thesis project. Both sketching by hand and computer drawings. The sketches are used to test ideas and possibilities for developing my project.

Drawings are used to look into potential design solutions and in the end visualize the proposal in plans, isometric views, sections and visualizations.

Model and drawing Physical models and drawings are combined when bringing model photos into digital drawings.

INTRO 19

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II. SITE PRESENTATION

II. SITE PRESENTATION 21

Nordhavn

Refshaleøen

city centre

Amager bakke

Prøvestenen

Kløverparken Kløvermarken

Amager

Amagerfælled

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Amager strandpark

N

Urban context diagram scale: 1:30000

SITE AND CONTEXT INTRO Outside the eastern coast of Amager in Copenhagen, the artificially built up island called Prøvestenen is located. The island is located around 3 kilometres, in a direct route, from Kongens Nytorv and the city centre of Copenhagen.

Prøvestenen is placed above Amager strandpark which is a very large beach area in Copenhagen. It has been a beach along the coastline since 1930, but in 2004 an almost 2-kilometre long sandbed was built. Between the beach area and the coastline, there is a lagoon and the beach park is programmed as an activity area with more facilities in the southern part (Amager Strandpark – Kend København, 2021).

On the western side of Prøvestenen along the coastline, the industrial area called Kløverparken is situated consisting of facilities with activities and a largely undeveloped area. This area is considered as a prospective area with future potentials of being developed as a new residential area. However, this development is dependent on also building up a new infrastructure around the area. Next to this site, Kløvermarken is located, an open field with several soccer fields functioning as a recreational area (Københavns Kommune, 2019.p.62).

Right above Prøvestenen an islet with the large power station Amagerværket and Amager Bakke is located. The latter is converting residual waste into district heating and electricity for the city. The large building has a recreational roof garden with a ski slope making it a unique place in the city (Amager Bakke - ARC, 2021).

North of this area Refshaleøen is placed, an islet which since the 1990s has developed from being a closed industrial area to an open area with many possibilities. It is an islet with many visitors during the summer consisting of for instance a food market, contemporary art and climbing facilities. The municipality is looking into the future development of the area in a similar way as it is today, but connecting it more to the rest of the city (Københavns Kommune, 2019.p.70).

Following the coastline further, north Nordhavn is situated, being the largest urban development area of Copenhagen today. It is a new district where houses, parks and workplaces are being built (Københavns Kommune, 2019.p.90).

SITE PRESENTATION 23

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Year 1860

Year1934

Year 1951

Year 1963

Year 1970

Year 1980

Maps in scale: 1:30000 (SDFE-kortviewer, 2021) (Historiske kort pa Nettet, 2021)

THE HISTORY OF PRØVESTENEN Prøvestenen was originally built as a marine fortress to protect Copenhagen and Denmark.

The history of the fortress goes back to 1713 when a floating dock called “Prøvestenen” together with some unserviceable warships were sunk to the sea bed to create a foundation to build on. The name of the sunken floating dock formed the name of the island. The facility of the marine fortress was finished in 1860 and is one of the oldest concrete buildings in Denmark (Prøvestenen – Kend København, 2021).

In 1922, it was decided not to use the marine fortress as a protection of the coastline anymore.

The island was bought by the Royal Danish Navy to use as storage for oil and petrol. Along with the development of modern society, the need for fossil fuels increased. This led to the Copenhagen Port Authority 10 years later buying Prøvestenen to expand the storage capacity of oil and petrol to the city. At this time, the island was at a distance long enough from inhabited areas in Copenhagen, it was argued to be safe to store the fossil fuels there. The island was after this known as the oil harbour of Copenhagen. The island was also known as ‘Benzinøen’ in popular speech (Christiansen, 2019).

As the island of Prøvestenen expanded, it was connected to land by a 500-meter long embankment. Railroad tracks were constructed on top of the embankment to be able to transport the fuel to the city. After the second world war, the import of oil increased which led to a further expansion of the harbour of the island, creating an almost 1-kilometre quay length altogether (Prøvestenen – Kend København, 2021).

After the oil crisis in the 1970s, the oil demand was reduced, which led to many of the tank facilities and silos being unnecessary. As an effect of the reduced oil storage, facilities for storing dry bulk, mainly stones and gravel were established.

This made Prøvestenen an important node for receiving and delivering building materials to construction sites (ByensEjendom, 2002).

Even though the demand for oil has decreased, Prøvestenen is still the largest storage for fossil fuels in Denmark. Altogether there are around 250 storage tanks on the island still in use (Københavns Kommune, 2018.p.4).

SITE PRESENTATION 25

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Year 2002

Year 2005

Year 2008

Year 2020

Maps in scale: 1:30000 (SDFE-kortviewer, 2021)

THE SOUTHERN PART EMERGING The southern part of Prøvestenen is relatively newly built compared to the rest of the island. Plans of expanding the southern part of Prøvestenen and constructing a large boat harbour were made in 2000 along with the decisions of building the new beach park in Amager (Københavns Kommune, 2012.p16).

The plan was to build the largest boat harbour in Copenhagen with room for 1400 boats. The southern part of Prøvestenen was also supposed to consist of boat storage during the winter, a camping site, service facilities and be developed with vegetation and paths as a recreational area (Københavns Kommune, 2012.p.3).

To reduce the noise level and create a safety barrier from the industrial oil activity of the northern part of Prøvestenen, decisions in 2000 were taken to construct an 8 meter tall and 40-meter wide embankment hill (Københavns Kommune, 2012.p.16).

The southern part was expanded with surplus soil from construction sites in and around Copenhagen. The soil used was not contaminated since the purpose was to create the harbour and recreational area (Københavns Kommune, 2012.p.7)

The plans for the boat harbour were put on hold due to the financial crisis. This left the area abandoned for many years apart from some activity from By & Havn, who owns the land (Prøvestenen Syd - By & Havn, 2021).

To work for a transition of energy and towards a more carbon dioxide neutral city, it was in 2010 decided to set up 3 large wind turbines on Prøvestenen. The placement of these was set to be along the embankment between the industrial area in the north and the recreational area in the south (Københavns Kommune, 2012.p.39).

Today the southern part of Prøvestenen is opened up in a test period to use it as a recreational area. The area which now is accessible for the public has a size of 7 hectares and was opened in August 2020. (Prøvestenen Syd By & Havn, 2021). The municipality has no ongoing developing plans for the area, but it is marked out as an area possible for establishing business activity for recreational purposes (Københavns Kommune, 2019.p.61).

SITE PRESENTATION 27

TIMELINE

28

Accumulation of materials

Marine fortress

Change of use

Expansion

Material fill-up

Oil & dry bulk storage

1713

1860

1922

1934 -1951

1963

1970

the floating dock called Prøvestenen is sunken to the sea bed, creating a foundation to build on

the marine fortress is finished in 1860, being one of Denmark’s first concrete buildings. It was in service as a fortress until 1922.

1922: the Royal Danish Navy is buying Prøvestenen to be able to use it as a storage for oil and petrol

1934: the Copenhagen Port Authority is taking over Prøvestenen to expand the storage capacity of fuel to the city

the island is expanding to increase the capacity of fuel storage

expansion of the island to give room for also storing dry bulk such as gravel and stones

VISION

Expansion to store dry bulk

Southern part emerging

Terrain vague - land under speculation

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

2002

2005

2008

2021

2035

2050

The storage capacity of dry bulk is increasing. The size of the island is getting larger

plans of constructing a large boat harbour.

Surplus soil fill up on the southern part

the financial crisis is putting the harbour plans on hold. An informal green space is appearing

the southern part is made accessible. The process of soil remediation is starting along Prøvestenen and on Kløverparken.

the oil and petrol storage in the northern part is ceasing. A park is opening up and the soil is being cleaned on the former industrial site.

A new park and urban district are established.

The island has now got a new identity.

SITE PRESENTATION 29

Nordhavn

Area where the island Lynetteholmen is planned to be built

Refshaleøen

city centre Prøvestenen

Kløverparken Kløvermarken

Proposed zoning line from the municipality, where no hazardous fuel storage can be placed on its western side. This is to create a 150 m safety area to Kløverparken.

Amager strandpark

Amagerfælled

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N

Diagram scale: 1:30000

THE CURRENT AND FUTURE PLANS Many questions are rising when talking about developing Prøvestenen since it is an island containing large amounts of fossil fuels and other environmentally damaging substances.

Some of the activities going on at Prøvestenen are of national interest for Denmark. For instance, the fuel supply for Kastrup airport is stored on the island. The fact that fuel is stored on the island is involving an explosion risk.

This together with noise from the stone and gravel activity on the island is due to regulations and security measures requiring a safety zone.

This safety zone is preventing the development of Kløverparken on the western side of Prøvestenen (Københavns Kommune, 2018 p.6).

Lynetteholmen North of Prøvestenen there are ongoing plans of constructing an island with a size of over 2 million square meters. The island is called Lynetteholmen and is planned to consist of housing areas, workplaces and coast near recreational areas. The island is planned to consist of 20.000 apartments enabling housing for 35.000 people. A project of this size is requiring new infrastructure and the plans include the construction of a new large road and a new metro station. Analyses, research of finance and environmental factors are being considered before the construction will begin (Københavns Kommune, 2019.p.95).

Prøvestenen is owned by By & Havn who is renting the island out to Copenhagen Malmö Port (CMP). They are managing all the activities on the industrial part of the island. CMP has a contract valid until 2035 and the municipality of Copenhagen has decided that the hiring contract will not be extended (Københavns Kommune, 2018 p.1). This is enabling zoning and ceasing of the most hazardous activities on Prøvestenen. By creating zoning and removing the most hazardous activities on the island, future development of Kløverparken after 2035 will be possible. The dotted line in the diagram crossing Prøvestenen is showing the safety limit of 150 meters where no hazardous activities on Prøvestenen can be allowed to keep Kløverparken safe (Københavns Kommune, 2018.p.13).

The plans for establishing Lynetteholmen are connected to the development of Kløverparken.

This is because the construction of a new residential area on Kløverparken in 2035 will help finance the new infrastructure for Lynetteholmen. The development of Kløverparken however, is dependent on zoning and relocation of activities going on at Prøvestenen (Københavns Kommune, 2018.p.3). What will happen with Prøvestenen after 2035 is in other words affecting the future of the surrounding areas a lot.

SITE PRESENTATION 31

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SITE PRESENTATION SUM-UP To summarize Prøvestenen is an artificially built up island that got its name from a floating dock that was sunk to the sea bed to create a foundation to build on. The island was originally built as a marine fortress to protect the coastline and is one of Denmark’s oldest concrete buildings.

In 1922 when the fortress was not in use anymore, Prøvestenen shifted to become a place where fuel is stored. These activities are still active in the northern part of the island today.

The southern part of Prøvestenen expanded during the first years of 2000 from plans of constructing a large boat harbour. These plans, however, were put on hold due to the financial crisis and the area was abandoned until last summer when the municipality of Copenhagen opened it up for public use.

There are no direct ongoing plans from the municipality to develop Prøvestenen today, but the activities on the island are affecting surrounding planned projects such as the new district Kløverparken and the visions of constructing Lynetteholmen. To be able to build on Kløverparken, some of the fuel storage on Prøvestenen has to be moved to create a safety zone.

Since the municipality of Copenhagen is not interested in extending the contract for the fuel storing activities after 2035, Prøvestenen is an island where future development can take place. This is making it relevant to analyse the site to get a better understanding of the island and its context.

SITE PRESENTATION 33

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III. SITE ANALYSIS

III. SITE ANALYSIS 35

The southern part of Prøvestenen today

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PRØVESTENEN: A TERRAIN VAGUE The term terrain vague is referring to the outskirts of a city which is not yet a part of its productive or developed spaces. In terrain vague areas, urbanization has not yet taken place. These types of areas are somehow waiting to be interconnected in the societal system, and have a lot of potentials, even if they often can appear rough at first sight (Ørskov and Grathwol, 1992.p.25).

Even if a terrain vague area does not have planned activities, there are often micro-processes going on. It is for example possible to see traces of human activity such as trampled grass and simple structural organisation like some stones placed together. The fact that spontaneous activities and uses can take place in these areas are making them appealing to us (Ørskov and Grathwol, 1992.p.27).

Prøvestenen can be seen as a terrain vague area. Especially the southern part of the island as it is today; a site in-between states. The area, as mentioned earlier, was supposed to be developed into one of Copenhagen’s largest boat harbours, but it never happened due to the financial crisis. Since then it has been left as a large open space, and as an object for speculation of its future use. The southern part has been opened up to the public on a temporary basis as described on page 27. Due to the uncertain future use of Prøvestenen as an island where fuel is stored, the northern part with all the silos is also a terrain vague area.

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LOOKING FOR POTENTIALS FOR FUTURE ACTIONS 1. The first part of the site analysis are observations from my first site visit to Prøvestenen where I did not know much about the island and its history. This visit is a documentation of my initial and direct readings of the site consisting of photo registrations I made walking on the southern part of the island. The only background information I had when visiting the site for the first time was a quick lookup in Google maps to get an overview of the island and how to get there.

2. The second part is the registrations I made after the thesis statement had been formulated and when I had gathered information about the history of Prøvestenen and the surrounding areas. I was studying connections and the surroundings of the island focusing more on the industrial part to get an understanding of the accessibility and how the site is experienced from different perspectives.

3. The third part is analyses and observations of Prøvestenen via plans, maps, aerial photographs and physical model studies. By building physical representations of the site and its context I was visiting the site via models. Due to the fact that the southern part of Prøvestenen is the only area accessible to the public, this was a way of getting to know the northern part of the island with the silos and industrial activity better.

SITE ANALYSIS 39

SITE OBSERVATIONS PART 1

The island is entered through Prøvestensbroen, the only road connecting it to land today.

When arriving at Prøvestenen, a big grass-covered embankment hill is unfolding dividing the industrial area in the north and the grassland in the south.

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Paths in the tall grass following the shoreline edges are trampled up by visitors.

The edges between land and water are varying along the southern part, but they are mainly robust with stones and concrete walls to prevent erosion.

SITE ANALYSIS 41

At some places, small hills are emerging, creating variations in the topography.

The large scale of the grassland together with the sea is making the site unique, especially for being located so close to the city centre.

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Following the embankment hill until it ends, the grassland meets the sea, with a view of the horizon and wind turbines further out in Øresund.

SITE ANALYSIS 43

PART 2

The large terrain vague area named Kløverparken is located adjacent to Prøvestenen.

The silos storing fuel are densely placed in the northern part of the island where Prøvestenskanalen is functioning as a safety barrier.

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In between the silos and the grassland, the stone and gravel storage area is unfolding.

The piles of rocks and gravel are breaking down the scale of the site creating spatial variations. Their appearance is referring to mountain landscapes.

SITE ANALYSIS 45

The industrial buildings are along with Amager bakke creating a prominent silhouette in the north.

In some places on Kløverparken, the edges are naturally shaped with spontaneous vegetation growing along Prøvestenskanalen.

46

From the top of Amager bakke the contrasts between the industrial landscape at Prøvestenen and the open space at Kløverparken are clear to see.

SITE ANALYSIS 47

MOTIVES OF PRØVESTENEN TODAY

The wind turbines, the sea & the horizon

The silos

The edges between land and water

48

The grassland and paths

The topography

The piles of rocks and gravel

SITE ANALYSIS 49

PART 3

Refshaleøen

t nde

rla

Fo

Prøvestenen

ej

riv

ade

ffin

Ra

m

er

øv

Kl

ej

sv

k ar

Uplandsgade ard

ulev

bo ags

Pr

n

sbroe

esten

Prøv

er

ag

Am ej

dv

an

str Amager strandpark N

Diagram scale: 1:30000

STREETS CONNECTIONS & BARRIERS Studying the street network and connections to Prøvestenen today it is clear to see that the island is rather disconnected from the rest of the city. The only connection today is along Prøvestensbroen which is a road trafficked with trucks transporting gasoline, stones and gravel.

Since the northern part of Prøvestenen and the open space at Kløveparken right next to the island is not accessible today, the street network is turning away from these areas. Looking a bit further north at Kløvermarksvej which

50

today is turning north becoming the street Forlandet, there could be a potential of a future continuation if Kløverparken and the northern part of Prøvestenen would be accessible.

The existing street network on Prøvestenen is almost organized as an urban grid. Nevertheless, the majority of the island is not planned for people. Imagining a future shift of use on Prøvestenen, there are a lot of development potentials using this street grid.

Refshaleøen

Prøvestenen

Kløverparken

Gr

Kløvermarken

ard

ulev

bo ags

Pr

nd

la

s as

Amager strandpark N

Diagram scale: 1:30000

GREEN AND OPEN SPACES Today the green spaces on Prøvestenen and the surrounding areas are fragmented and only partly accessible. For example, the future development area at Kløveparken is today a huge open field filled with soil waiting for development. The big grassland area on the southern part of Prøvestenen is large, but an isolated green space today. Along Prags boulevard, there is a green avenue that stops at the intersection of Amager strandvej.

There are potentials of extending this avenue, creating a green connection out to the island.

In the northern part of Prøvestenen, there are some fragmented open spaces where spontaneous vegetation has occurred. Linking these areas together by planting new vegetation would create habitat corridors, protect biodiversity and by that be a part of a bigger ecosystem (Tabor, Meiklejohn and Ament, 2010).

SITE ANALYSIS 51

Refshaleøen

Prøvestenen Piles of rocks & gravel Embankment hill

Amager strandpark N

Diagram scale: 1:30000

TOPOGRAPHY The overall topography of Prøvestenen is relatively flat apart from the long embankment hill dividing the northern and the southern part of the island. The embankment is functioning as a sound barrier reducing the noise from the industrial activity, but also as a landscape element giving a unique identity to the site.

52

Due to the dry bulk storage activity, there are many piles of rocks and gravel spread out on the northern part of the island. They are not fixed structures, since they are being transported to construction projects, but they are still contributing to the topography and landscape character almost appearing like small mountains

Refshaleøen Kraftværkshalvøen

Prøvestenen Fortress

Kløverparken Kløvermarken

Amager Amager strandpark N

Diagram scale: 1:30000

BUILDING STRUCTURES The built structures surrounding Prøvestenen are shifting from an industrial character in the north with the buildings on Refshaleøen and Kraftværkshalvøen over to business and residential blocks on Amager in the south. North of Kløvermarken and on the eastern side of Amager there are two allotment garden areas.

The structural elements on Prøvestenen are dominated by the many silos on the northern part storing fuel. They are clustered within the street network and their round shapes are giving them a unique character compared to their context. In the middle of the island, the old marine fortress is placed.

SITE ANALYSIS 53

SECTION MODEL 1 THE NORTHERN CONTEXT This model is showing the existing appearance from a section of the island in the northern part with its context to land. It is a model where the openness of the soccer fields on Kløvermarken and the empty terrain vague area on Kløverparken is displayed in relation to Prøvestenen.

In the section, the old marine fortress surrounded by silos is shown. Since the original shape of the island was built around the fortress, it has a lot of historical value, located on a non-accessible part of the island today.

Christianshavns Vold

54

Allotment gardens

Sport facilities

Kløvermarken

Business buildings

N

Section model area

Kløverparken Development area

Prøvestenskanalen

Closed for public use

Søfortet Prøvesten

Silos

Øresund

SITE ANALYSIS 55

Silos

Søfortet Prøvesten

Øresund

Silos

Silos

Open space Closed for public use

Prøvestenskanalen

Kløverparken The marine fortress is today surrounded by the many silos storing fuel. There is, however, a non-accessible open space right in front of the fortress.

56

Silos

Øresund

Søfortet Prøvesten Silos Open space Silos

The open space in front of the old marine fortress on Prøvestenen has the potentials of becoming a meeting place and public square in the future.

SITE ANALYSIS 57

SECTION MODEL 2 THE SOUTHERN CONTEXT The model is showing a section of the southern part of Prøvestenen with its urban context to Amager. It is visualizing the long axis of the embankment hill as a landscape element and continuation of Prags boulevard via Prøvestensbroen.

In the model, it is possible to see the transition from the urban environment out to the green and open space at the southern part of Prøvestenen and the stone and gravel storage area.

Prags boulevard

58

Uplandsgade

Kløvermarken

Amager

Kløverparken

Prøvestensbroen

N

Section model area

Prøvestenskanalen

The southern part

Stone and gravel storage

Wind turbines

Øresund

SITE ANALYSIS 59

Kløverparken

Prøvestenskanalen

Embankment hill

Stone and gravel storage

Prøvestensbroen

The only physical connection out to the island today is via Prøvestensbroen, a road with no trees trafficked by heavy trucks.

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Stone and gravel storage Embankment hill The southern part of Prøvestenen

Allotment gardens

Amager

Kløverparken

Kløvermarken

Uplandsgade

Prags boulevard

The avenue along Prags boulevard could be extended to create a green connection out to Prøvestenen.

SITE ANALYSIS 61

Kløvermarken

62

Prags boulevard

Amager

Amagerstrandvej

Kløverparken

Prøvestenskanalen

Prøvestensbroen

Stone and gravel storage

The southern part of Prøvestenen

Embankment hill

Øresund

Model overview showing the contrasts between the urban context on Amager and the openness at the southern part of Prøvestenen.

SITE ANALYSIS 63

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SITE ANALYSIS SUM-UP To conclude Prøvestenen is a terrain vague.

It is an area where visions of what it can become in the future are present. Today it is an island dominated by industrial activity, but the large grassland area in the southern part is standing in contrast to it. The green structures are concentrated in the south with only fragments of spontaneous vegetation on the rest of the island. There are possibilities of making a green connection out to the island by extending the avenue from Praghs boulevard.

Prøvestenen is today only accessible via one road named Prøvestensbroen. and the northern part of the island is not reachable to the public due to the fuel storage. The northern part is dominated by the many silos and a large section of the island consisting of stone and gravel storage.

The topography on the island is highlighted by the long embankment hill dividing the northern and the southern part creating a landscape element visible from far away.

Together with the piles of stone and gravel, they are giving the site a unique character.

The old marine fortress is today surrounded by silos, but the historical value and placement of it could become a node and place to visit in the future.

Studying the context of Prøvestenen, the large open space at Kløverparken is making the island appear even more isolated. There are potentials of connecting the northern part of the island by an extension of Kløvermarksvej.

To sum up the different features of the site and how new elements such as vegetation can be implemented, fragment models of the different landscape characters are built and explained on the next pages. This is to get an overview of how to start working with a design where the soil is cleaned using vegetation.

SITE ANALYSIS 65

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FRAGMENT MODELS The fragment models built at the beginning of the project were used as an inspiration for studying a variety of the processing level on Prøvestenen. After the site analysis, these models are reinterpreted and renamed. This is to take the findings of the site analysis, translate them into spatial elements and use them for developing design ideas.

These models can now be viewed as objects with different spatial characters and function as design elements to be integrated on Prøvestenen. The models are a way of studying the existing components of the island, but also a tool for how these elements can come to play further in the design strategy.

Keywords: spatiality, tactility, materiality, scale

SITE ANALYSIS 67

FRAGMENT MODELS PROCESSING AND MATERIALITY

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The topography

The natural surface

The structural surface

Creating spaces and volumes.

Breaking down the scale of the site and influencing movement patterns

Is the green infrastructure contributing to wide and large scale open spaces such as the grassland in the south where desired paths are occurring.

Creating programmed spaces with variations in paving and ground material giving the site different textures.

The volume

The figure and element

For spatial variations. Can be seen as fields of vegetation, but also as existing built structures like the silos, tree grooves and new buildings in the future.

Is like the volumes space-defining.

Can be looked at as landmarks, or trees in lines connecting spaces and creating visual directions.

SITE ANALYSIS 69

70

IV. SOIL REMEDIATION WITH VEGETATION

IV. SOIL REMEDIATION WITH VEGETATION 71

Nordhavn

Refshaleøen

Prøvestenen

Kløverparken

Amager strandpark

contaminated soil assumed contamination N

72

Soil contamination diagram scale: 1:30000

CONTAMINATED SOIL In urban areas, contaminated soil is common.

This is mostly due to historical industrial activities. Contaminated soil is threatening the quality of the groundwater, nature and human health. In Denmark, a lot of work has been done to map where the soil is containing pollutants. The diagram shows areas with contaminated soil on and around Prøvestenen. The darker shade of red is covering areas where the soil is contaminated and the lighter is showing where suspicions of contamination are located. The suspicion areas are based on historical studies where there has been industrial activity in the past that possibly could have led to contamination (Jordforurening, 2021).

Since the activities on Prøvestenen are and have been handling fossil fuels for a long period of time, the soil on the island is contaminated.

The soil on the island is contaminated with oil, petrol and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-xylene) compounds. This type of contamination is threatening the future use of the area and the quality of the runoff surface water. The costs of cleaning up the area have not been calculated, but estimates have been made that it could cost over 10 million Danish crowns (Miljø- og klimaudvalget, 2018 p.214).

SOIL REMEDIATION WITH VEGETATION 73

CLEANING CONTAMINATED SOIL There are several ways of cleaning contaminated soil. It is possible to use on-site methods or disposal/special treatments where the soil is removed and cleaned elsewhere (Holm, 2018 p.4). To decide which kind of method to use, it is necessary to study the polluted soil and the properties of the site. This is according to P. E. Holm (2018.p.5.) to be able to see: The kind of pollutants and their concentration The chemical and biological properties of the pollutant The type of soil The history and size of the polluted area The cost and time frame to choose a suitable remediating technique The pollutants in the soil can either be organic or inorganic. Organic pollutants are for example compounds of oil, gasoline and chlorinated hydrocarbons. This type of pollution can be degradable in a biological way.

In-organic pollutants, such as salts, acids and heavy metals are elements that can not be degradable (Holm, 2018 p.6). However, it is possible to remove these pollutants from the soil, and there are different strategies to use.

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Soil remediation strategies At contaminated sites, more than one pollutant is often present. The pollution may also vary in concentration within the area. This is making it important to know which kind of method to use for cleaning the soil. (Gold, Hollander and Kirkwood, 2010.p23). There are different ways of treating a contaminated site and these are the five most common categories.

Full cleanup This method is when all of the contaminated soil is excavated and removed by truck to a landfill area licenced to take care of polluted soil. It is also a method where the water at the site is cleaned up (Gold, Hollander and Kirkwood, 2010.p38).

Partial cleanup (off-site) This cleaning method is when the polluted soil is removed from the site and cleaned at a licenced soil cleaning station. The soil can then be cleaned through both chemical and biological methods and when the soil is cleaned it can return to the brownfield area or another site. It involves a lot of soil transportation, but an advantage of using this method is that the contaminated site can be remediated in sequences taking one area at a time (Gold, Hollander and Kirkwood, 2010.p38).

Partial cleanup (on-site) This method is dealing with the contamination directly on site as it is discovered. It is a good method for handling pollutants to prevent the site from being further polluted. It is possible to isolate specific pollutants and find the most suitable remediation technique for them. Ways of cleaning the soil on-site include physical methods where for example air is pumped into the soil, chemical treatments such as soil washing and biological methods such as bioremediation and phytoremediation where microorganisms and plants are cleaning the soil (Gold, Hollander and Kirkwood, 2010.p39).

Full concealment This is a method when the contaminated soil is covered and concealed to stay in the ground. It can be done by using the techniques of adding a layer of clay over the contaminated soil, geotextile layers and then covering the contaminated site with clean soil. The advantage of using this method is that it is less expensive than removing the soil and having it cleaned elsewhere. A disadvantage, however, is that the contamination is still present below the clean soil which can be an issue for future digging/construction projects.

(Gold, Hollander and Kirkwood, 2010.p39).

Nonintrusive cleanup This method is about leaving the site as it is where it is possible and using natural methods to clean the soil. It is a method where phytoremediation and bioremediation are used to let biological reactions break down the pollutants in the soil. It is a sustainable and more peaceful way to clean the soil and deal with the pollution on-site than using other methods. The non-intrusive cleanup may however be limited to some pollutants requiring more aggressive remediation techniques (Gold, Hollander and Kirkwood, 2010.p.40).

Generally, in situ remediation strategies have shown to be more economical and sustainable than ex-situ soil cleaning strategies (El-Gendy et al., 2009.p.1).

SOIL REMEDIATION WITH VEGETATION 75

Phytovolatilization

Phytoextraction

3. accumulation Phytodegradation

Phytodegradation

1. pollutants

Phytostabilization

2. uptake and translocation

Principle section of phytoremediation

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PHYTOREMEDIATION The process when pollutants in the air, soil and/or water are captured and remediated by trees and other plants is called phytoremediation (Licht and Isebrands, 2005 p.204).

Phytodegradation The process when pollution is taken up by a plant and is degraded within the roots, stem or leaves. This can happen both above and below ground (Pivetz, 2001.p.2).

In old industrial areas, also known as brownfield areas, it is common that the soil is contaminated with oils, greases, heavy metals and other chemical compounds containing carbon and hydrogen. Phytoremediation can clean up these toxins from the soil. The fact that phytoremediation as a soil sanitizing method can handle several contaminants at the same time is making it an attractive and cost-effective tool for these types of areas (Ensley, 2000).

Phytoextraction This is the name of the process when pollutants are taken up by the roots, accumulated in the plant and thereafter being harvested. The biomass is then being safely removed from the site. This is a process of removing contaminants from the soil and it is working for both organic and inorganic pollutants (Pivetz, 2001.p.3).

When pollutants are taken care of by plants, numerous processes are occurring. They are depending on which kind of pollutant, plant and current local conditions at the site.

Within the term phytoremediation, there are many forms of processes going on, such as:

Phytovolatilization Is a contaminant removal process where pollution is taken up by the plant and transferred out in the atmosphere as a less toxic compound. This is a process working differently depending on which plant and pollution it is (Pivetz, 2001.p.9).

Phytostabilization Is the name of the process when vegetation is changing the biological, physical and chemical conditions in the soil. This is making it possible for the plants to take up pollutants in the roots (Pivetz, 2001.p.4).

SOIL REMEDIATION WITH VEGETATION 77

WORKING WITH PHYTOREMEDIATION Before establishing a phytoremediation project, it is of high value to be aware of the properties of the pollution on the site and to have a strategy for the remediation process. Depending on the level of contamination, the time perspective and planned future use, phytoremediation may not be the only method to use. Mixing technologies and methods of remediation may then be preferable on heavily polluted sites (Kirkwood, Krinke and Winterbottom, 2001).

The time perspective Phytoremediation is a soil cleaning process that takes a long time. Depending on how contaminated the site is and which type of pollutants are present, the remediation time can take years and even many decades. The time aspect, however, can be turned into something positive when using vegetation as a method of cleaning soil. If each stage of the cleaning process has a clear character in vegetation type, it can be used to create spatial variations and a sense of place (Sleegers, 2010.p.134).

Trees, for example, can be used as a long term remediation strategy. It is then crucial to have a vision of the eventual use of the site so that the trees planted can remain undisturbed over a long time period (Rock, 2001.p.57).

Limitations Since phytoremediation is a method using plants as a tool to clean the soil, it is useful to be conscious of the fact that plants are living organisms with both strengths and limitations.

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There are factors that can limit their effectiveness such as diseases, pests caused by insects, poor soil quality, climate conditions, water supply and unpredictable events. There is also a seasonal aspect meaning the plants change their processes during nighttime, and shut down completely during wintertime.

For a landscape architect, there may be challenges due to the limits of the planting palette and placement of the vegetation working in phytoremediation projects (Rock, 2001.p.58).

What is happening in the process of phytoremediation is that the pollutant is transferred from one media (the soil) to another (the plant).

This means that the plants will contain pollution instead. It may then be necessary to harvest and remove the vegetation to create an effective clean-up system. The fact that there is still biomass underground, may be a limiting factor when cleaning up soil since pollutants may stay located in the root system (Holm, 2018 p.38).

Possibilities Even though there are challenges connected to the method of phytoremediation, it is a technique where it is possible to mix plants in relation to the mix of pollutants, optimize the soil conditions and plant performance. The economical aspect is also a positive factor since it is a lowcost remediation technique (Holm, 2018 p.37).

Normally there are restrictions on making polluted sites accessible to the public, since

they may be hazardous to human health. It is however possible to place planting spaces in a way to allow public access on parts of an ongoing clean-up project. The phytoremediation process and site design are then linked together. The planted systems are remediating the soil and at the same time forming patterns of use and creating spatiality (Rock, 2001.p.52).

Phytoremediation projects can be a part of linking isolated green spaces together into larger green networks (Sleegers, 2010.p.137).

Due to the fact that the urban environment often is very fragmented, redevelopment of contaminated sites using vegetation can help establish new ecosystems. Planting a site is the first step to start habitat creation and to improve the soil properties. These are benefits coming along with the process of contaminant reduction and continuous changes of the vegetation characteristics (Rock, 2001.p.52).

Green growing sites are often met with positive response and support by the public. If an area is planted, people are seeing signs of a sustainable endeavour. To enhance consciousness of soil pollution and remediation techniques phytoremediation project sites can be integrated into environmental education and to work as areas where research case studies are applied (Sleegers, 2010.p.138).

Plant selection When choosing the vegetation to use for soil remediation projects it is important to consider the depth of the pollution as well as the rooting depth of the chosen plant. If the contaminants for example only are located in the surface soil, grasses and smaller plants should be considered. When the pollution is located deeper in the subsoil, trees and deep-rooted plants are suitable. The phytoremediation process is effective within a maximum soil depth of 2 meters (Miljøstyrelsen, 2001.p.10). When using non-woody species, the effective depth where phytoremediation can take place is within the upper layer of soil, around 60 cm deep (Pivetz, 2001.p.12).

The selection of tree species is important for phytoremediation projects and it is preferable to choose local trees that naturally grow in the region. This is because these tree species can adapt to local conditions and thrive better.

Additionally, it is of high value to not use invasive species since they may disturb the local ecosystem (O’Connor et al., 2019.p.3). The type of vegetation mainly used in soil remediation projects is trees (Salix and Poplar), grasses and legumes. The plants are changing the conditions in the soil around their roots in a way affecting the chemical, biological and physical conditions which in the long run is making it less polluted (Miljøstyrelsen, 2001.p.9).

SOIL REMEDIATION WITH VEGETATION 79

Fig.1 Sunflower

Fig. 4 Alfalfa

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Fig.2 Poplar tree

Fig. 3 Willow

Fig. 5 Grasses

PLANTS OFTEN USED IN PHYTOREMEDIATION Fig.1 Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) Height: 1 - 4,5 m.

The sunflower is an annual herb with a wide stem, large leaves and a wide flower (sunflower, 2021). It is a fast-growing flower producing a lot of biomass and has the ability to accumulate heavy metals (Pivetz, 2001.p.13). It has been shown that the sunflower is accumulating more heavy metals in the leaves and stem than in the roots. This is also appearing at a higher rate in the early stages of its growth period (Adesodun et al., 2009.p.1). The plant is suitable for the process of phytoextraction when it is grown and then harvested.

Fig.2 Poplar trees (Populus spp.)

Height: up to 35 m depending on species.

The Populus genus is consisting of over 35 species of trees in the willow family. The species Populus nigra ‘Plantierensis’, with its long trunk and columnar shape is often used in landscape plantings (poplar, 2021). The Poplar tree is a fast-growing tree species with the ability to take up and reduce the level of contaminants in the soil. (Pivetz, 2001.p.13).

Using Poplar trees for phytoremediation on petroleum-affected sites has shown positive results due to its fast growth rate and remediation abilities (El-Gendy et al., 2009.p.13).

Fig. 4 Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) Height: 30 - 90 cm.

The alfalfa plant, also called lucerne is a cloverlike perennial with a high drought, heat and cold tolerance. It is developing purple flowers. The plant is growing rapidly and has the potential of growing very deep roots. The plant has a large capacity for growing new stems and leaves after cutting (Alfalfa | plant, 2021).

The fact that the alfalfa is a plant that can survive in various conditions, is growing fast and has a deep root system, is making it suitable to use in soil remediation projects. Studies have shown successful results of using alfalfa for phytoremediation (Miljøstyrelsen, 2001.p.10).

Fig. 5 Grasses Various heights.

Grasses are naturally colonizing in brownfield areas and since they have the ability to produce a lot of biomass in a short period of time they are suitable for bioremediation projects (Hauptvogl et al., 2019.p.508). For example, the species Miscanthus is a fast-growing species that can grow on polluted sites, be harvested and used as bioenergy (Hauptvogl et al., 2019.p.509).

Fig. 3 Willow (Salix viminalis) Height: up to 5 m.

Salix viminalis is a large bush, or small fine branched tree easy to recognize with its long and thin leaves (Anderberg, 2021). It is a high biomass producing bush that has the capacity of also taking up heavy metals in moderately polluted areas. The bush can also be used as bioenergy (Greger and Landberg, 1999.p.122). This is making it a suitable plant for phytoextraction.

SOIL REMEDIATION WITH VEGETATION 81

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SOIL REMEDIATION WITH VEGETATION SUM-UP To summarize, the soil on Prøvestenen is contaminated mainly with organic pollutants from the fuel storing activities that have been going on for many years. To develop the island for future public use, soil cleaning processes are required.

There are various methods of cleaning the soil. Some of the methods are dealing with the pollutants on-site, and others are about removing the polluted soil to a remediation station.

Phytoremediation is the name of the soil cleaning process when vegetation is accumulating pollutants through its roots. It is a more cost-effective and sustainable way of cleaning the soil than using other methods. This is, however, a process that is taking a long time and is varying depending on the kind of pollutants, the depth and their concentration. An effective way of working with soil remediation using vegetation is to use fast-growing species such as Poplar trees, sunflowers and Willow bushes to let them accumulate the pollutants and then be harvested. The pollutants are then transferred into the biomass and can be removed from the site. By doing so, the landscape character is changing over time, creating a rotation of soil cleaning plants between growing seasons.

Another way of dealing with polluted soil is to let grasses, bushes and trees grow to create a vegetative cap preventing the pollutants to spread in the wind and erode out in the water.

The pollutants are then not removed completely, but by mixing different methods, it is possible to integrate soil cleaning by vegetation into the landscape design. This is making it relevant to take a deeper look into the design strategy for developing Prøvestenen.

SOIL REMEDIATION WITH VEGETATION 83

84

V. DESIGN STRATEGY

V. DESIGN STRATEGY 85

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STRATEGY SCHEME Based on the findings in the site analysis, the theories of how to work with soil cleaning using vegetation and with inspiration from the fragment models, the design strategy for the development of Prøvestenen is focusing on three main categories: I. The vegetation As a tool for cleaning the soil and to create new shapes and volumes. This is to give the island a more green character. By adding new vegetation, the existing green spaces will, both on the island and its surrounding areas, be less fragmented.

II. The topography Since the topography today is a part of the identity of the site with the long embankment hill and all the piles of rocks and gravel, it will be integrated within the new design. Topography will be worked with to make new spaces, create microclimates and direct movement patterns.

III. The silos The silos and built structures will to some extent be preserved and transformed with new functions in the future development of Prøvestenen.

The round shapes of the silos can contribute to the design, both as built-up volumes and to create surfaces from their footprints.

The following pages are going through each category and how the elements within them can be implemented in the design proposal.

DESIGN STRATEGY 87

Height: 15 m

Spacing: 10 m

10 m

10 m

10 m

01

Spacing: 10 m

10 m

10 m

10 m

88

5

10 (m)

VEGETATION POPLAR TREES By planting columnar shaped Poplar trees in long lines and avenues an effect of both cleaning the soil and landscape design can be achieved. The tall Poplar trees can work as visual guidance leading people out to the island.

Trees will be used for phytoremediation purposes, but also be included in a future park and woodland design creating solid volumes when planted in groups.

Along with the Poplar trees, other pioneer tree species such as birches, willows and alder trees will be used and preserved when growing up as spontaneous vegetation in certain places.

Contributing to a coast near forset character, beech trees will be used since they are naturally growing near the sea in Denmark (Træ.dk, 2021).

DESIGN STRATEGY 89

Height: 2.5 m

Length: 25 m

0 1

Length: 25 m

Width: 10 m

90

5

10 (m)

VEGETATION SALIX BUSHES The willow bushes can be planted in fields building solid vegetation volumes and be a part of the phytoremediation project. The fact that they are fast-growing plants with the ability to accumulate pollutants is making them suitable to be harvested for removal of polluted biomass (Greger and Landberg, 1999.p.122).

By cutting the bushes down after 3 growing seasons, they can be a part of a rotation system where different soil cleaning species are used

and tested. This is to study their efficiency and a way to change and evolve the site over time.

The bushes can also be integrated into the landscape design to form walls and direct movement patterns. The dimensions of the fields when planted like volumes can vary depending on where on the island they are located. The measurements on the visualisations are just an example to show the vegetation character.

DESIGN STRATEGY 91

Height: 1.5 m

Width: 10 m

0

1

5

Length: 10 m

Width: 10 m

92

10 (m)

VEGETATION SUNFLOWERS Sunflowers are when planted together in fields, creating volumes. Viewed from a distance their appearance will create large yellow surfaces when flowering. The sunflowers can in addition to their aesthetic qualities be used to study the phytoremediation capacity of specific pollutants.

By planting fields of sunflowers where certain pollutants are found, the plants can be grown, harvested and then removed.

A removal of the biomass can be done after every growing season, and the sites where they are planted can change from year to year. By doing so, the user experience will shift depending on the season and site being planted. The fields may vary in size and shape depending on where they are situated.

DESIGN STRATEGY 93

Height: Up to 0.9 m

Width: 5 m

0

1

5 (m)

Length: 5 m

Width: 5 m

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VEGETATION ALFALFA AND GRASSES Using herbaceous vegetation such as perennials and grasses are creating low volumes and surfaces that can be integrated into the design to create vegetated open spaces.

Herbaceous vegetation can also be a part of remediating the soil. A strategy to prevent pollutants from spreading by wind and erosion is to create a vegetative cap, consisting of grasses, clovers, bushes and trees (Rock, 2001.p.56).

The herbaceous vegetation can be spread out on the island, planted in fields to be harvested every year to remove polluted biomass. The length and width of the field in the illustrations are just to show the principle. In the design, these fields will be used on larger scaled areas on Prøvestenen with inspiration from the character on the southern part today.

DESIGN STRATEGY 95

Height: 8 m

Length: 1000 m

0 50 100

500 (m)

Width: 40 m

Length: 1000 m

96

TOPOGRAPHY AS A LANDSCAPE ELEMENT The existing long embankment hill has the qualities of being a noise barrier from the industrial activity today, but also as a landscape element forming a long axis right across the southern part of the island. Many people are walking along the embankment today and it is possible to get a good overview of the southern part of Prøvestenen from it.

Together with the wind turbines, it is functioning as a landmark that can be seen from a long distance. In the future development of the whole island, if the fuel, stone and gravel storage activities are not present anymore, this embankment hill could be opened up at certain places to improve the accessibility across Prøvestenen.

00

7 th:

m

ng

Le

40

h: 1

gt Len

m

h: 190

Lengt

m

DESIGN STRATEGY 97

Height: 7 m

Length: 300 m

0 10

50

100 (m)

Length: 300 m

Width: 30 m

Piles of stones & gravel: various heights

98

TOPOGRAPHY AS NOISE BARRIER By working with topography in long and large elements, it is possible to frame certain areas of the island and shape zones within the design. The topography can then be used to differentiate between public park character and residential areas. The large elements can also be integrated within a woodland park structure.

Len

gth

:2

00

m

Imagining a future scenario where the oil and petrol storage on the northern part of Prøvestenen has ceased and the island is developing in phases where the stone and gravel storage is still ongoing, topography can be used to reduce noise. A similar, but shorter embankment hill to the one in the southern part of the island can be built to reduce the industrial noise for people visiting the marine fortress for example.

: 145 m

Length

DESIGN STRATEGY 99

Height: 5 m

Width: 100 m

0

5

25

50 (m)

th:

ng

Le

: gth Len m 20

10

30

ng th: Le

Length: 40 m

30 m

m Width: 35 m

Width: 100 m

100

TOPOGRAPHY TO INFLUENCE MOVEMENT PATTERNS By working with topography as objects placed in various formations, space-defining volumes will appear. Even if the hills are separated, they are together creating a variated landscape character.

Where certain polluted places on the island are covered up or replaced with clean soil, topography can be integrated into the process.

By building hills, the topography can affect movement patterns in areas planned for recreational purposes. Some hills may be taller and larger than others to make the user experience more diverse.

15 m

15 m

Distance: 20 m

DESIGN STRATEGY 101

3,5 m

Height: 3 m

Width: 75 m

0

5

10

25

50 (m)

Length: 55 m

Width: 15 m

Length: 40 m

Length: 60 m

Width: 30 m

102

TOPOGRAPHY TO CREATE MICRO-CLIMATE Since Prøvestenen is an island located at the coast in the sea of Øresund, it is a wind-exposed area. Topography can be used to create wind protection and microclimate. This is something both human and nature can take advantage of.

The height can also vary and at some places smaller height differences may be used to not block the view whereas at other places the hills may be several meters tall to drastically reduce the wind exposure.

The shapes, spacing and placements of the topography volumes creating these microclimates can vary from consisting of long landscape elements to clusters of several hills framing certain areas.

s

Di

e:

c tan

30

m

4m 6m

4m

DESIGN STRATEGY 103

Spacing: 10 m

15 m

Height: 7 m

5m

Width: 125 m

0

5 10

25

50 (m)

15 m

2m Length: 85 m

Width: 70 m

104

5m

Width: 50 m

TOPOGRAPHY & VEGETATION CREATING SPATIAL VARIATIONS When the topography and vegetation are intertwined, various landscape characters will occur.

The spatial variations from trees in lines or groups together with the volumes from the topography, grass fields and bushes will affect the user experience. The phytoremediation process can be integrated into the design and some of the existing piles of soil on the site can be planted.

In highly contaminated places of the site, where vegetation is planted to clean the soil, the utilization can be limited, such as designed paths where only cycling and walking is allowed. By doing so, it is possible to give the soil cleaning process a green character integrated into a recreational park. This type of programming has been tested in Landscape Park Duisburg-Nord in Germany with positive results (Latz, 2001.p.156).

Avenue

Poplar trees

Path

Willow bushes

Path

Alfalfa and grasses

DESIGN STRATEGY 105

Height: 23 m 12 m

6m

Length: 125 m

0 5 10

Width: 95 m

28 m 19 m

Width: 65 m

106

25

50 (m)

THE SILOS CURRENT APPEARANCE Imagining a shift of use of Prøvestenen as fuel storage, the many silos on the island have a lot of potential of being transformed and integrated into a future green urban district. With their cylindrical shapes and dense placement, their volumes are tempting to use as a part of the design.

Many of the silos are surrounded by concrete walls. These can be used to create spatiality. By preserving some of the silos but breaking up their original structures and adding vegetation, they can to some extent be preserved and made accessible.

DESIGN STRATEGY 107

Height: 20 m

Width: 29 m

0 5 10

25

Width: 95 m

Length: 117 m

108

50 (m)

THE SILO AS A LANDMARK The idea of preserving one silo and taking down the others at selected sites on the island is to create silhouettes and landmarks.

The remaining silo can be transformed into a public facility surrounded by park space.

The areas where the torn down silos used to be can be planted with various types of vegetation to differ from the surrounding green space. This is a way to leave traces of history on the ground with a new function.

Traces of former silos

DESIGN STRATEGY 109

15 m 4,5 m

Height: 1 m Length: 125 m

0 5 10

Length: 125 m

29 m

26 m

Width: 65 m

110

25

50 (m)

THE SILOS AS A PARK By removing the silos and planting the areas where they used to be, their footprints can be used as a tool for designing green spaces. If the surrounding concrete walls are to some extent preserved, they can be used to create spatial

variations acting as wind shelters and edges to sit on. For someone completely new to the area, it might not be clear that this type of design is based on a former silo site at first glance.

DESIGN STRATEGY 111

Height: 23 m 12 m

4,5 m

Length: 125 m

0 5 10

Length: 125 m

29 m

26 m

112

25

50 (m)

THE SILOS TRANSFORMED WITH NEW FUNCTIONS By mixing the methods of removing and transforming the silos, creating a sculpture park with different functions is possible. Some structures can be opened up and planted, creating an interplay between the industrial structures and the vegetation.

The surrounding concrete walls of the silos can also be used to create walls and seating.

The transformations are giving the silos as historical objects as fuel storage a new meaning.

8m 2m 6m

1m

DESIGN STRATEGY 113

22 m

15 m 4,5 m

2m

Length: 140 m

0 5 10

25

50 (m)

25 m

65 m 35 m

114

Length: 140 m

37 m

32 m

5m

VEGETATION, TOPOGRAPHY & SILO A COMBINATION OF ELEMENTS When the vegetation, topography and silos are combined, a park character consisting of various volumes and surfaces is emerging.

Imagining a transformation of the silo into a building open for public use, it can function as a landmark in a larger green context.

The topography and vegetation are reducing the scale of the silo and are at the same time contributing to the soil remediation.

At some places, where the phytoremediation process has been going on for many years, trees can be planted as a start for developing an urban forest character. In decided areas, spontaneous vegetation of pioneer tree species such as birches, willows and poplar trees can be preserved as a part of the site management.

DESIGN STRATEGY 115

116

DESIGN STRATEGY SUM-UP To summarize the design strategy for the future development on Prøvestenen is built upon the three main categories:

I. The vegetation Functioning as a soil cleaning medium, linking green spaces together and as a tool for creating surfaces, volumes and spaces II. The topography To reduce the scale of the site, lower noise, influence movement patterns, create new volumes and places as well as microclimates.

III. The silos To be transformed with new functions, broken up into new space-defining elements, use their footprints for creating surfaces and function as landmarks in a larger green context.

Each category has its characters and qualities.

The ways of working with these categories can be combined and used in various ways on Prøvestenen depending on the future programming for different areas on the island.

By linking the categories together, they are building up the foundation for the design as a tool for creating the proposal. Since Prøvestenen will be developed in phases, the site will also change over time along with the design. The vision for the future transformation of Prøvestenen is shown in the proposal on the following pages.

DESIGN STRATEGY 117

118

VI. PROPOSAL

VI. PROPOSAL 119

Kraftværkshalvøen

Amager bakke

Øresund

New urban district

Poplar avenue

Residential buildings

Woodland park

Boardwalk

Grassland

Promenade

The silo park Niche with seating Square

Business buildings

nd

rla

Fo

Bike & pedestrian bridge

et

Poplar avenue

ej ksv

ar

erm

øv Kl

The marine fortress

Rowhouses

The coastal forest

Niche with seating

New embankment hill

Promenade Kløverparken

Bridge Opening

Activity centre

Prøvestenskanalen

ad ffin

Ra

Niche with seating

New accessible area

Bridge

The coastal forest Opening

Bridge

eri vej

Embankment hill opening

roen

stensb

Prøve Kløvermarken

Uplandsgade

e

oul

gs b

Pra

Bike & pedestrian bridge

d var Allotment gardens

Grassland

Allotment gardens

j dve

ran

en ban

r age

Am

r st age

Am

Ved

Boat harbour

N

Amager

120

Amager strandpark

Masterplan. Scale: 1:10000

MASTERPLAN TIME PERIOD: 2050 The masterplan is showing a future scenario of Prøvestenen in 2050 when the soil-cleaning processes have been going on for many years and the island has transformed into a new urban district and a large scale green area. The island is at this stage both inhabited and consisting of new work and business buildings creating a mixeduse district. The majority of the new buildings are five stories high and the proposed residential area are enabling 5000 new apartments.

Starting in the northern part of Prøvestenen, the extension of Kløvermarksvej is creating a new connection to the island via the bicycle and pedestrian bridge built already in phase 2. The avenue of tall Poplar trees along this connection is forming a long line out to the sea.

On the western side of the residential area in the north, a woodland character is established.

The woodland is a part of a larger park structure consisting of different vegetation types, topography and transformed silos. The marine fortress is integrated into the park structure and the square in front of it functions as a node and meeting place. An open grassland character is preserved on the former fuel storage to not block the view of the sea and horizon.

Due to regulations of the distance between wind turbines and residential houses, the area is not being urbanized (Wind Denmark, 2021). Instead, a forest park is developing.

Some of the piles of rocks and gravel were used to shape the new topography of the forest park. A layer of surplus soil from construction projects was added to enable vegetation to grow. The soil is remediated via vegetation.

The soil on the southern part, which originally was constructed using surplus soil from the rest of the city and hence never was that polluted, is by this time tested and considered clean. It is, therefore, possible to let sheep graze in the fields as a part of the management of keeping an open character. The open character is providing a view of the sea in a similar way as in the north.

The long embankment hill is now opened up in three places to enhance accessibility across Prøvestenen. This is because the whole island now is open for public use. Bridges are constructed over the embankment openings to enable a promenade on top of it. Instead of being a barrier between the northern and southern part, it is now a landscape element in a larger park structure.

The stone and gravel storage now belongs to a distant time in the past since those activities were moved a couple of years after the dismantling of the fuel storage.

PROPOSAL 121

THE PHASES

PHASE I.

PHAS

TIME PERIOD: 2021 - 2035

Phase 1. Scale: 1:20000

122

TIME PERIOD

SE II.

PHASE III.

D: 2035 - 2050

Phase 2. Scale: 1:20000

TIME PERIOD: 2050 -

Phase 3. Scale: 1:20000

PROPOSAL 123

Kraftværkshalvøen

Amager bakke

Øresund

Fuel storage

Field of willow bushes New topography Poplar trees

Stone & gravel storage

Closed for public use

et

nd

rla

Fo

Field of sunflowers New avenue of Poplar trees

ej

sv ark

erm

øv

Kl

The marine fortress

Closed for public use

Fuel storage Kløverparken

Stone & gravel storage

Prøvestenskanalen Field of alfalfa and grasses

Fuel storage

ad ffin

Ra

New line of Poplar trees

eri vej

Kløvermarken

Pra

roen

stensb

Prøve

New bike & pedestrian bridge

d var

e

oul

gs b

Allotment gardens Allotment gardens

j dve

ran

en ban

r age

Am

r st age

Am

Ved

Boat harbour

N

Amager

124

Grassland

The southern part of Prøvestenen New line of Poplar trees

Uplandsgade

Embankment hill

Amager strandpark

Plan phase 1. Scale: 1:10000

PHASE 1 TIME PERIOD: 2021 - 2035 The first steps of transforming Prøvestenen are in this proposal starting already from 2021.

Since the fuel storage activities have a contract valid until 2035, the northern part is not able to be developed and accessible for public use before the dismantling of these activities.

Despite this, the remediation with vegetation process is starting along Prøvestenskanalen.

The fuel and gravel storage closest to the canal are therefore moved. The area is planted with large fields of willow bushes, sunflowers, alfalfa and grasses. This is to start the cleaning process and create a visual sign that a transformation of the northern part of Prøvestenen is slowly emerging. The large fields with different species are tested and managed to study the polluted soil and remove polluted biomass. At the end of Kløvermarksvej, Poplar trees are planted out on Kløverparken and within the vegetation fields on Prøvestenen. The trees are also used for soil cleaning and highlighting a possible future connection.

The southern part of the island is kept open and has now become a popular area to visit for recreational purposes and spontaneous activities.

The green connection along Prags boulevard is extended out to Prøvestenen with a long line of Poplar trees. The trees are following the shape of the long embankment hill. With their uptight character, they are also creating a strong visual connection out to the island.

By constructing a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge next to the road Prøvestensbroen, a new connection to the southern part is created without blocking the boat harbour activities. The new connection is separating visitors from the heavy truck traffic transporting fuel, stone and gravel on Prøvestensbroen. The Poplar trees are also reducing the focus from these activities.

PROPOSAL 125

Field of sunflowers

Fuel storage Kløverparken

Fuel storage

Field of alfalfa and grasses

Closed for public use

New line of Poplar trees en

tensbro

Prøves

New line of Poplar trees

New entrance

P

rd

eva

oul

sb rag

New bike & pedestrian bridge

Am age

Allotment gardens

ran

r st j

dve

Boat harbour

126

Allotment gardens

Stone & gravel storage

Closed for public use

Existing embankment hill

Stone & gravel storage

Grassland

The southern part of Prøvestenen

Terrain vague open space for spontaneous activities

N

Plan phase 1. Scale: 1:4000 PROPOSAL 127

Field of willow bushes

Field of willow bushes

Field of sunflowers

New topography

Field of alfalfa and grasses

New topography

A

New row of Poplar trees

New bike & pedestrian bridge

B

Prøvestenskanalen

128

The southern entrance

New Poplar trees

A

Section A-a Prøvestenen seen from Kløverparken in phase 1. The large fields of vegetation cleaning the soil are communicating a future green transformation on the not yet accessible part of the island. The newly planted Poplar trees are with their columnar shapes standing out from the fields highlighting a possible connection over Prøvestenskanalen. Between the ongoing fuel storage and the vegetation fields in the north, hills are built as a safety barrier but also to be included in a future park structure. a

b

Section B-b Section showing the new bike and pedestrian bridge in relation to the line of Poplar trees planted along Prøvestensbroen. The trees, visible from far away, are creating a green connection out to Prøvestenen as an extension of the avenue on Prags boulevard.

B

Field of alfalfa and grasses

Field of sunflowers

Existing hill

a

Section A-a. Scale: 1:2000

New row of Poplar trees

Existing embankment hill

b

The southern part of Prøvestenen

Section B-b. Scale: 1:2000 PROPOSAL 129

Kraftværkshalvøen

Transformed silos for public use

Amager bakke

Øresund Transformed silo for public use New planted street trees

Poplar avenue

Future residential area

Promenade

Grassland

Woodland park

The silo park Niche with seating Future mixed use area

The marine fortress

Stone & gravel storage

nd

rla

Fo

New bike & pedestrian bridge

et

Poplar avenue

vej

rks

ma

er løv

Square

Spontaneous vegetation growing

Niche with seating

K

Kløverparken

Field of alfalfa and grasses

Prøvestenskanalen

ad ffin

Ra

Niche with seating

Closed for public use

Field of sunflowers Fields of willow bushes

Spontaneous vegetation growing

New bridge

eri vej

Embankment hill opening

Kløvermarken

Prøve

Bike & pedestrian bridge

d var

e

oul

gs b

Pra

roen

stensb

Line of Poplar trees

Uplandsgade

Stone & gravel storage

New embankment hill

Boardwalk

Grassland

Allotment gardens

j dve

ran

en ban

r age

Am

r st age

Am

Ved

Allotment gardens

N

Amager

130

Amager strandpark

Plan Phase 2 scale: 1:10000

PHASE 2 TIME PERIOD: 2035-2050 In phase 2 the major transformation of Prøvestenen is taking place since it is the period when the fuel storage activity is dismantled and moved from the island. Removal of these activities is making the northern part of the island accessible to the public. The soil cleaning process along Prøvestenskanalen has been ongoing for many years, and a promenade park is now developed integrated with the fields of soil cleaning. Niches with seating are built along the promenade and in the northwestern end, where willow bushes were cleaning the soil in phase 1, a woodland character is emerging.

Self-sown pioneer tree species are preserved and additional poplar, willow, birch, and beech trees are planted to create this character.

The construction of a new residential district at Kløverparken is now possible due to the absence of fuel storage. A new bridge connection is built as an extension of Kløvermarksvej meeting the poplar trees planted in phase 1. The avenue of Poplar trees is extended across the northern part of the island creating visual guidance and functioning as the main axis out to the sea.

Some silos are preserved and transformed for public use. In the silo near the woodland, a visitor centre with information about soil cleaning with vegetation is founded. At the centre, it is possible to study the remediation process in detail and to be informed about the various plants being used at the site.

The marine fortress is now opened up as a museum and a paved square is built in front of it creating a historical meeting place.

Surrounding the square, a park with transformed silos is constructed. The former silos are enabling seating, walls and spatial variations with the new-planted vegetation.

The stone and gravel storage is still ongoing and closed for public use, but spontaneous vegetation is starting to grow on unused open spaces in between the piles. A new embankment is built north of this area to reduce noise.

The existing embankment hill is opened up improving the accessibility between the northern and southern part. A pedestrian bridge is built over the opening to enable a promenade on top of the embankment out to the sea.

The southern part of the island is kept open to preserve the open terrain vague-character but on the eastern side, near the embankment hill, the management is reduced to let spontaneous vegetation with bushes and trees emerge. A coast near forest character is slowly developing.

Where future construction of residential houses is planned, the soil is fully remediated with clean soil coming from the stone and gravel storage.

The soil cleaning process with vegetation is ongoing in many places and new remediation fields are included in the park structure.

PROPOSAL 131

Amager bakke

New poplar, willow, birch and beech trees

New topography

Woodland park Niches with seating

Boardwalk

Prøvestenskanalen

Niche with seating

New bike & pedestrian bridge

t

e nd

rla Fo

Poplar avenue

j

sve

er

øv

Kl

132

rk ma

Kløverparken - a new residential district is being built

Transformed silo for public use

Transformed silo for public use

Full clean-up of soil on site Transformed silo into a visitor centre - informing about soil cleaning with vegetation

Silo park

Promenade Full clean-up of soil on site

New topography

Full clean-up of soil on site

New planted street trees Future residential area

Poplar avenue

Øresund

Grassland - cleaning polluted soil

Path New planted street trees

Park entrance

Full clean-up of soil on site

Field of alfalfa and grasses

New poplar, willow, birch and beech trees

The silo park

Park entrance Poplar avenue

The marine fortress - museum Future mixed use area

Field of sunflowers

Field of alfalfa and grasses

Square

Stone & gravel storage - closed for public use

New planted street trees Future mixed use area

Field of alfalfa and grasses Niche with seating

Future mixed use area

Full clean-up of soil on site

New planted street trees Field of alfalfa and grasses

New noise reducing embankment hill

N

Plan phase 2. Scale: 1:4000 PROPOSAL 133

134

At the northeastern end of Prøvestenen next to the avenue with Poplar trees, the open grassland is enabling a view of the sea and horizon.

PROPOSAL 135

Transformed silo

Prøvestenskanalen

Boardwalk

New topography

Woodland park

Vegetation cleaning the soil

136

Field of alfalfa and grasses

Path

Transformed silo

New topography

New topography

The visitor centre & woodland park The transformed silo near the woodland on the northwestern side of the island is used as a visitor centre with information about soil cleaning with vegetation. At the centre, it is possible to study the remediation process in detail and to be informed about the various plants being used at the site. A large remediation field is located in front of it with a path forming a straight axis. The field is being harvested between growing seasons whereas trees are planted and preserved in the woodland park next to it.

Here the categories of vegetation, topography and silos from the design strategy are put together to shape the park structure. The vegetation is cleaning the soil and creating spaces, the topography is used for microclimate and the silo is a landmark visible from far away.

Field of alfalfa and grasses

Park entrance

New topography

Woodland park

Prøvestenskanalen

Transformed silo/ visitor centre

PROPOSAL 137

Øresund Future residential area

Poplar avenue

New poplar, willow, birch and beech trees

The silo park

The marine fortress

Stone & gravel storage

Square New topography

Future mixed use area

Niche with seating

Woodland park

New bike & pedestrian bridge

Boardwalk

Prøvestenskanalen

Field of sunflowers

Field of alfalfa and grasses

Poplar avenue Kløverparken - a new residential district is being built

The new bridge connection from Kløverparken to the northern part of Prøvestenen is highlighted by the avenue of Poplar trees forming an axis to the sea.

138

The soil cleaning fields are along with planted poplar, birch, willow and beech trees building up a park structure to be integrated into a future urban grid.

In the silo park, the user experience is in focus. Together with the vegetation, the transformed silos are now functioning as space defining elements.

PROPOSAL 139

The phytoremediation process is integrated into the landscape design by constructed paths in-between the vegetation fields. The polluted areas are planted with different species between various growing

140

seasons to study their efficiency of soil cleaning and remove polluted biomass. This is also to enable a change in landscape character from year to year.

The field which used to be planted with sunflowers, can after a couple of years have another character.

In this example, willow bushes are planted appearing taller and more like solid volumes compared to

the yellow fields of sunflowers. Information signs about the soil cleaning with vegetation process are put up throughout the site to educate visitors.

PROPOSAL 141

PHASE 3 TIME PERIOD: 2050 -

The coastal forest

Line of Poplar trees

Embankment hill

The coastal forest

The southern part of Prøvestenen

Grassland

C

c

Section C-c. Scale: 1:2000

Section C-c The embankment hill is now a landscape element integrated into a larger park structure with the coast near forest growing on both sides of it.

Prøvestenskanalen

Transformed silos for public use

Woodland park

New urban district

Section D-d Cross-section showing the transition from the urban district in the north to the coastal forest in the southern part of Prøvestenen.

Poplar avenue

D The northern part of Prøvestenen

142

The silo park

The marine fortress

D C d c

Section marks plan. Scale 1.20000

The coastal forest

Long hill

Activity centre

New topography

The coastal forest

Line of Poplar trees

The coastal forest

d The southern part of Prøvestenen

Section D-d. Scale: 1:4000 PROPOSAL 143

Niche with seating Rowhouses

Promenade

Kløverparken

Field of alfalfa and grasses

New accessible area

Boardwalk

Prøvestenskanalen

Niche with seating

Bridge Embankment hill opening Entrance en

tensbro

Prøves

Line of Poplar trees

Entrance

P

rd

eva

oul

sb rag

Bike & pedestrian bridge

Am age

Allotment gardens

ran

r st j

dve

Boat harbour

144

Allotment gardens

The coastal forest

New embankment hill New opening

Activity centre

New bridge

Grassland

The coastal forest New opening New bridge

Line of Poplar trees

Existing embankment hill

The southern part of Prøvestenen Grassland

Grassland

Open space for spontaneous activities

N

Plan phase 3. Scale: 1:4000 PROPOSAL 145

146

The former stone & gravel storage is developed into a coast near forest park. Within the varied topography and vegetation, paths and seating possibilities are integrated.

PROPOSAL 147

Øresund

Boardwalk promenade

The coastal forest

Grassland

Poplar avenue

E

e

Section E-e. Scale: 1:500

Hill

Woodland park

Hill

Niche with seating Boardwalk

Prøvestenskanalen

F

f

Section F-f. Scale: 1:500

Line of Poplar trees

Pedestrian bridge

Embankment hill opening

The coastal forest

Line of Poplar trees

G

g

Section G-g. Scale: 1:500 148

E

e F

f

g G

Section marks plan. Scale 1.20000

Section E-e The avenue of Poplar trees stops on the northeastern edge of the island, where a boardwalk promenade is following the coastline.

Section F-f At the western side of Prøvestenen the woodland with hills are located close to Prøvestenskanalen where niches with seating are integrated along the boardwalk promenade.

Section G-g The new openings of the embankment hill in the southern part of the island are creating new movement patterns and inviting visitors to the coastal forest on the former stone and gravel storage.

The wooden pedestrian bridges are enabling a promenade along the top of the embankment from the southern entrance out to the sea.

149

150

The southern part of Prøvestenen with the opened up embankment hill is enabling access to the coastal forest which now is emerging on both sides of the hill. Grazing sheep are keeping the grassland character open.

PROPOSAL 151

152

VII. OUTRO

VII. OUTRO 153

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSION To summarize this thesis project is proposing a design for future development of the artificially built up island Prøvestenen. The island is through phases developed step by step at the same time as the existing industrial activity is being dismantled. The proposal is focusing on giving Prøvestenen a new, green identity and making it more accessible to its local context.

Since the soil on the island is contaminated due to fuel storage, the proposal is built upon a strategy of soil remediation. The historical values of the site are important and existing structures are to some extent preserved and transformed with new functions. The research questions were:

gradually shifted from only studying the southern part of Prøvestenen to the whole island and its surrounding areas instead.

How can Prøvestenen through landscape transformations be developed over time to change its identity?

With inspiration from Willy Ørskov´s ´Theory of objects, I started my design process by building the fragment models. They were a useful tool for defining existing and possible new elements on the site and to create a foundation for how to develop my design strategy.

The theory of objects was also an inspiration to view the whole island as an object with historical values affected by underlying forces, such as visions from the municipality of a possible change of use of the island in the future and the development of the surrounding areas.

How can the change take place with a focus on soil reclamation using vegetation as the main remediation method?

The work presented seeks to answer these questions by taking the findings in the site analysis, the theories from soil remediation with vegetation and transferring them into a design strategy for how to implement vegetation, topography and transformation of the silos into the future development of the island. The elements from the design strategy are then put together and used in the design proposal consisting of three phases. In the following discussion, reflections of the methods used, the design proposal and future development will be taken up.

Method discussion At the beginning of the thesis project, I was imagining my project would be about making a design proposal for the southern part of the island only. But after analysing the site through the different mediums of historical mapping, drawings, site visits, photography, and by building physical models my attention

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Since a majority of the island today is closed for public access, the methods of using maps and building physical models were especially good for me to get to know the inaccessible areas better. Even if studying the non-accessible areas through different mediums gave me a good understanding of the site, I might have seen things differently if it would have been possible to study the northern part through my body and senses via site visits.

Building the long section models of two chosen areas on the island was, for me, a new and inspiring way of analysing a site. By building up the existing structures on the island and its context, I was given a more clear vision of the limitations and possibilities of the site.

The physical models helped me understand the scale of the site better. Already in the process of constructing the models, I was getting design ideas which I could use later on in the process.

By seeing Prøvestenen as a terrain vague, I could see the qualities of less programmed areas, like the character on the southern part of the island today, and be inspired by this in my design proposal.

Soil remediation with vegetation When working with the site analysis of Prøvestenen, the fact that the soil is contaminated, was something I found out quite directly. In the beginning, this felt like a limitation for my design ideas, but studying theories of soil remediation opened up my eyes to how to work with this. There are several ways of remediating polluted soil, and in this thesis, the method of phytoremediation, a way of cleaning up polluted soil through vegetation, was chosen to be the method in focus. This was to work with the idea of connecting soil remediation to landscape design by using green infrastructure as a medium. The fact that phytoremediation is a process taking a long time, was an opportunity for using the vegetation to create spatial variations over time (Sleegers, 2010.p.134).

The species chosen for cleaning the soil in this proposal might be seen as few, but that was because I wanted to be sure to choose species that had been tested in similar projects before supported by references. The idea of planting large fields of different vegetation for soil cleaning was to create a variation in landscape characters between growing seasons and to be able to remove polluted biomass.

One could argue that this method is creating monocultures like agricultural landscapes, but

my vision was to use the vegetation fields as a soil cleaning tool with possibilities to change in the future. Some fields may be turned into woodland in the future. The method of soil cleaning using vegetation can be seen as a human action to reduce pollution where the results become visible through the emerging vegetation.

The idea of creating a vegetative cap, covering some polluted spaces and letting spontaneous vegetation grow, was to enable soil cleaning and at the same time create a coast near forest character close to the city centre of Copenhagen.

A limitation to the theories proposed for cleaning the soil using vegetation was that I did not have the exact measurements of the pollutants of the island. I only knew that the island is polluted with organic compounds from oil and petrol (Miljø- og klimaudvalget, 2018 p.214). If this project would be realised, it would be necessary to take soil samples to study the exact properties of the pollution and their concentration to find a suitable remediation technique (Holm, 2018 p.5). This is something that could affect the chosen species and areas for soil cleaning in my proposal.

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The categories from the design strategy assembled.

Design strategy The way of defining the three main categories of how to work with vegetation, topography and transformation of the silos as my design strategy was good for developing my design proposal. By defining the qualities of the categories one by one to finally put them together in the proposal was a new way of working for me and something I will bring on to the future.

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The proposal As suggested in the design proposal, complete removal of the current fuel storage could be argued to be a very drastic approach. Especially since Prøvestenen is the largest site for storing fuel in Denmark today (Københavns Kommune, 2018.p.4). However, the central location of the island along with the interests from the municipality to not extend the contract for the company

in charge of the fuel storage after 2035, made it relevant to imagine a future transformation of the island. The fact that the municipality of Copenhagen has a goal of becoming a carbon dioxide neutral city in the future also made it interesting to study the future potentials of Prøvestenen (Københavns Kommune, 2019, p.24).

My design proposal in this master’s thesis should be seen as a vision and a strategy for how Prøvestenen could be developed in the future. To propose the development in phases was necessary due to the current ongoing activities and to handle the soil contamination. It was also built upon the idea to create scenarios where the new landscape is countering the old existing structures on Prøvestenen. This was a way of linking the historical traces with the new park structure with vegetation cleaning the soil. Because these plants would contain pollutants, the landscape programming was at some places limited to recreational purposes only.

The time perspective for the phases is based on assumptions of the fuel storage being moved to somewhere else after 2035. This is also regarding a future removal of the stone and gravel storage. Already in phase 1, I am suggesting the removal of some of the activities closest to Prøvestenskanalen, something that may not be possible before 2035.

Because of the regulations of not constructing residential buildings close to wind turbines, it was possible for me to imagine the stone and gravel storage being transformed into a forest instead of an urban district in the future. The amount of 5000 new residential apartments proposed are not that many compared to the future

plans of constructing 20000 new apartments on the new island Lynetteholmen. But looking at it the other way, the proposal is giving more room to green spaces transforming an already existing island instead of constructing a completely new one as the plans for building Lynetteholmen. Which in my opinion, is a more sustainable approach to develop a city.

Potential future development Further development of the project would be to take soil samples on Prøvestenen and study the contamination to see the actual properties of the pollutions. Together with experts in the field, it would then be possible to implement a more precise remediation strategy.

Together with the municipality, developing a plan for how to dismantle the fuel, stone and gravel storage activities would be necessary.

It would be essential to find a new site for these activities even if the fuel storage most likely would be on a much smaller scale in the future. These factors could mean adjustments of the zoning and time perspectives for my proposal. To construct the new urban district, urban planners and architects could start to design the marked housing areas in detail.

Epilogue Finally, this thesis is suggesting a vision of enabling a large green space and a residential district along the coastline of Copenhagen.

With inspiration from the existing characters on Prøvestenen today such as the vegetation, topography, and silos, my vision is that the proposal can function as an inspiration of what Prøvestenen could become in the future.

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