Sustainble Ideas for CPH Metro

Today’s metro is a modern, functional station design inspired by an international design style. It was conceived as infrastructure with focus on optimal circulation and iconic wayfinding – resulting in a world-class transportation system for Copenhagen.

Today, we sit with an expanded set of criteria which demand that our public spaces respond to the great challenges of our time - namely limiting resource use and reducing impact levels within planetary boundaries – yet the metro must continue to serve the same primary function, while expanding throughout the city. As such, the metro company must do more – with less.

When asked to envisioning a more sustainable metro stration, we built on the functional design and pragmatism of the existing metro to include sustainable and experiential design strategies – so that the metro of the future is both resources conscious and human-centric.

We propose a sustainability strategy that is primarly concerned with material optimization. If a material doesn’t have an essential function, it should not be included. Materials deemed necessary should be low-carbon, biogenic or recycled alternatives. At the same time, we maintain that the station is a public space and should be designed to both comfort and delight the humans that pass through.

Although the selection of surface material for the metro station deals with only .06% of the metro’s footprint, there is opportunity to reduce carbon impact within this scope - while at the same time defining a holistic, resource preservation starategy for future metro construction.

We believe the most sustainble material is the one not used. By removing redundant materials from the metro’s design, we expose en engineering marvel and highlight the craftsmanship of the concrete structure – resulting in a spacious and ethereal room. An expansive skylight maximizes the amount of daylight let into the space. Bare station walls, washed with sunlight are envisioned as public galleries and generous places to rest are provided above and below ground. As such, the human need for sensory stimuli, moments of surprise, invitations to stay, and connection to life are integral forces in the experiential design.

Low-carbon materials are applied where necessary to maintain optimal levels of acoustics, lighting and wayfinding. Surfaces with which people interact the most such as floors and handrails are constructed of conventional, quality surfaces that connect the metro to the city landscape and Danish design heritage. The result of these interventions is a timelines station design that connects to the past, while pointing to the future.

Through strategic material reduction we minimize the impact of surface materials in the metro station by 81%. We demonstrate that the future metro does not need to be a complex response to the demands of our time, but that through straightforward, common sense design interventions the metro station can have a reduced environmental impact, while being more generous to the people that pass through.