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Copenhagen’s twin towers of power to be left in the shadow of a new usurper

Ben Hamilton
September 1st, 2016


This article is more than 8 years old.

Majority of municipal council will approve plans for Central Station complex today

How the tower will look from one of th entrances to Tivoli (photo: Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter)

Copenhagen city centre’s twin towers of power at City Hall and Christiansborg have dominated its skyline for almost a century. City Hall’s 105-metre clock tower has stood since 1905, while Parliament’s Palace Tower is 100 cm higher thanks to a cheeky 11-metre addition in 1934.

But their dominance is about to change, as a majority on City Hall’s municipal council is expected to today approve a new residential apartment building complex next to Central Station that will stand fully 112.5 metres tall, reports Ingeniøren.

Ten buildings in total
Situated at Posthusgrund, the ‘Post Office Plot’ sandwiched between the station and Tivoli Hotel, the complex will consist of ten buildings, of which six will be in excess of 50 metres tall.

The site is owned by Danica Pension, which bought the Copenhagen Postal Terminal buildings for 925 million kroner in March 2015, announcing plans for a 5 billion kroner redevelopment.

In total there will be ten towers (photo: Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter)

In total there will be ten towers (photo: Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter)

READ MORE: Danica buys Post Danmark headquarters

Designed by Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter (Gehl Architects and Julie Kirkegaard Landskabsarkitekter are also involved), the complex will include both residential and office space. And there is the possibility, subject to a deal with rail operator DSB, of adding to the complex with further buildings in the future.

Local residents have been resistant to the plans amid fears the buildings will leave their sunny apartments permanently in shadow – or at least during the three-week Danish summer.

Concerns have also been expressed about the affordability of the apartments, as it won’t include any social housing.

The complex is bang next to Central Station (photo: ltarkitekter.dk)

The complex is bang next to Central Station (photo: ltarkitekter.dk)

Christiansborg Tower set the limit
Until now, the height of the tower at Christiansborg had always been the city centre limit.

However, several towers in Copenhagen – the Carlsberg Tower in the district of Valby and the Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel in Amager – are higher, scraping the sky 120 metres high.


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”