New green urban space at Lyngby Campus

A distinctive pond garden as a landmark, an event site with a spatial installation as a meeting point, and a planting strategy that benefits microclimate and biodiversity. These are some of the key elements of the winning proposal for the renewal of Kemitorvet at DTU Lyngby Campus. Five teams were invited to the contest, and the jury selected a proposal from Marianne Levinsen Landskab. In collaboration with the artist group AVPD and Øllgaard Rådgivende Ingeniører A/S, they will be responsible for transforming the square into a new, sensuous, and inviting urban space for students, researchers, neighbours, and visitors alike.

“The five proposals each interpret DTU’s distinctive features and provide interesting suggestions on how itcan be incorporated into the new Kemitorvet. A unanimous jury has found that the proposal from Marianne Levinsen Landskab has addressed the vision and wishes of the competition most convincingly, and has therefore appointed this proposal as the winner,” says Rasmus Larsen, chairman of the jury and Executive Vice President, Provost at DTU.

Green identity for the formal and the informal

The winning proposal outlines a square that with simple means furthers the original Campus landscape plan and points it into the future. The jury commends the proposal for being both robust and flexible, striking a fine balance between the formal and the informal, and for being able to accommodate big celebrations and spontaneous meetings alike. By dividing the 135-metre-long square, a clear green identity is created, guided by a well-contemplated planting strategy that creates seasonal variation and strengthens biodiversity and microclimate.

“We’re thrilled to be allowed to shape the new Kemitorvet. The aim of our competition proposal has been to create pragmatic aesthetics in which connections between buildings and planting, materials and functions, flows and meeting and seating spaces together create a low-key poetry in line with the heritage of landscape architects Ole and Edith Nørgård,” says Marianne Levinsen.

Pond garden and event space

The new Kemitorvet will both embrace the big events and create space for immersion and breaks. Two key attractions must contribute to this; ‘Arenaen’ (the arena) and ‘Bassinhaven’ (the pond garden).

The arena is the focal point of the event site. It is a space-forming steel structure which is both an art project, a place marker, and a multifunctional construction, and which can be used for everything from exhibitions and academic talks to social and cultural events.

The pond garden will be the landmark of the square and a sensuous meeting and seating area with flower trees and removable tables and chairs. The pond garden is framed by a shallow rectangular black granite water pond measuring 15 x 17 metres with a 1.2-metre water mirror. Around the water basin, there is room for you to sit, so that the water element becomes a present and sensuous part of the stay in this part of the square.

The new Kemitorvet is expected to be completed in early 2023.