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Jan Gehl’s guide to winter city Copenhagen

Since the 1960s, Jan Gehl has studied people not buildings. In the buzzing concrete jungle of modernism, he was pronounced a hippie and ridiculed by his colleagues. Today, with everyone talking about life in the city, he has become the undisputed guru of urbanists.

By Dansk Arkitektur Center

We love the sun in Scandinavia, especially in the winter, where little patches of sunlight have an almost therapeutic effect on us. The Danish climate is characterized by Atlantic depressions rolling in regularly from the west, which means that even though we are on the same latitude as Alaska and Siberia, we have a mild, but windy climate.

Architecture plays an important role in making a winter city pleasant, especially because architecture has a direct impact on sun and wind conditions. Roaming the huddled streets of the coastal town of Dragør is a very different experience from walking among the ultra-modern high-rise blocks in the Copenhagen district of Ørestad. As different an experience as walking around Munich vs. Oslo. It may sound crazy, but according to Jan Gehl, shelter from the wind or sunlight can shift the local climate more than 800 miles.

»As an architect, your design shouldn’t make the climate worse than it already is,« says Jan Gehl.

He is known as an outspoken critic of the many new high-rises in Copenhagen, which he believes cause more wind and more shade. According to Jan Gehl, it is possible to build tall structures without having a negative impact on the local climate, but it is rarely achieved with success. He notes that while City of Copenhagen’s municipal architect has been Camilla van Deurs, there hasn’t been approved any new high-rise buildings.

»But she also spent 11 years with Gehl Architects,« he adds with a smile.

Winter life is undoubtedly impacted by the weather. Something that is most conspicuous on that first spring day. The city literally bursts into life, because all of a sudden you don’t need to wear a coat outside.

  • Photo: Morten Jerichau, CMC

    2. The Streets of the Inner City

    In winter, it’s actually lovely to walk around the Inner City. Not on Strøget and Strædet – and yet, I’d still rather choose Strædet over Strøget, I’d say. But especially on the other streets, where there’s hardly any traffic, because people are standing in the middle of the street talking.

    There’s such an incredible sense of calm all around. More also happens in winter now than before. For example, the smoking ban has pushed people out into the street, even in winter. The cappuccino culture has arrived, and the cafés discovered that a simple blanket can make us sit down outside.

  • Photo: Søren Berg

    5. Damhussøen

    A really nice thing in winter is to take a walk around Damhussøen, which I live close to. There’s a path all the way around, and there are always people on it. On a winter Saturday or Sunday with light wind and sunshine after two weeks of rain and sleet, everyone has to go out for a walk.

    On days like that, it’s fantastic to see that all the life from Strøget has moved out to places like Damhussøen, Frederiksberg Garden, or another spot where it’s lovely to walk. When that day comes, you want a good place to be, with some trees, ice on the water, birds singing, and sunshine.

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