The courtyard at AB Haabet is located on the threshold of Amagerbrogade at Amager, the diverse island connected to Copenhagen’s city center. The courtyard forms an important semi-private urban space for the residents of the cooperative housing association AB Haabet, within a dense and mixed-use neighborhood. The courtyard is constructed above a parking deck established in 1960, a condition that has fundamentally shaped its spatial structure, material logic, and overall character over time. This inherited structural constraint remains a defining parameter for the project, operating under conditions comparable to those of a rooftop landscape. Load-bearing capacity, build-up heights, drainage, and planting depths have been carefully integrated as generative design drivers rather than limitations.

The renovated courtyard introduces a clear spatial hierarchy, optimizing both functional distribution and environmental quality. Areas for stay, play, and greenery are strategically positioned along the eastern edge facing Amagerbrogade, while bicycle parking and primary circulation are placed along the western edge. This zoning maximizes sun exposure in the most active parts of the courtyard, ensuring that spaces for social interaction and recreation benefit from optimal daylight conditions. At the same time areas for stay and integrated benches are placed near the commercial ground floor which reduces potential conflicts with private residential facades, contributing to a balanced coexistence between the public and private.

The courtyard is a sequence of differentiated yet interconnected zones, each supporting distinct modes of residence. The benches along the facade, establishes a quieter and more intimate edge – “with its back to the wall” – providing sheltered residences for smaller groups and individual occupancy. Here is to find diverse seating typologies, thresholds, and entry points to the shops along the street. The edge zone of the courtyard is utilized in this way.

At the heart of the courtyard, a long communal zone invites collective use and flexible programming. Here, large picnic tables are positioned beneath lightweight pergola structures, softened by climbing vegetation that provides seasonal shade and spatial definition. These central area functions as the social anchor of the courtyard, enabling everyday encounters as well as more organized gatherings.

The northern and southern ends of the courtyard are conceived as its social poles, each accommodating diverse user groups and activities. In the southern end of the courtyard, a more open surface allows for temporary arrangements such as table-bench set ups and the stay of larger tents for communal events, reinforcing the courtyard as a setting for collective events and celebrations.

In the north end – characterized by the most favorable solar conditions – the primary play landscape is located. Here, a large wooden deck integrates a range of play elements for different age groups. For younger children, a sand pit and in-ground trampolines are embedded in the deck, alongside a sensory garden planted with edible and aromatic species. This space encourages tactile exploration and informal learning through interaction with planting. For older children, the play area expands to include climbing structures, swings, a small ball pitch, and traditional play markings on the ground surface, supporting both structured and unstructured play.

The more shaded western segment of the courtyard accommodates the project’s infrastructural functions. Here, a level difference is resolved through the introduction of open grating elements (elephant grates), which both maintain necessary ventilation to the underlying parking structure and create a permeable surface condition. As a use of this space bicycle parking is facilitated on top of the elephant grates. This intervention allows for improved accessibility while maximizing usable surface area without compromising technical requirements.

The proposal is rooted in the project brief and developed by an iterative, dialogue-based process with the courtyard committee. Through a series of workshops, multiple conceptual approaches have been explored, tested, and refined, resulting in a scheme that balances technical constraints, user needs, and spatial quality. The project ultimately reimagines the courtyard as a cohesive, viable landscape – one that supports everyday life, fosters community, and transforms inherited limitations into architectural potential.

Credits:
Pictures: VEGA Landskab and Clara Knudsen

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