Superkilen

Superkilen is a public park in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The park is designed to bring immigrants and locals together, promoting tolerance and unity in one of Denmark's most ethnically-diverse and socially-challenged communities. Not only is the park a meeting place for local residents, it is a tourist attraction for Copenhagen. Designed by the arts group Superflex with the collaboration of Bjarke Ingels Group and Topotek1, a German landscape architecture firm, the park was officially opened in June 2012. The almost kilometre-long park's name refers to its shape, "kilen" meaning "wedge".

The park is part of an urban improvement plan coordinated by the City of Copenhagen in a partnership with Realdania, a private philanthropic organization. The objective was to upgrade the Nørrebro neighbourhood to a high standard of urban development liable to inspire other cities and districts. It is designed as a kind of world exposition for the local inhabitants, covering over 60 nationalities, who have been able to contribute their own ideas and artefacts to the project.

Nørrebro is a neighbourhood plagued by crime and areas to the East and West of the park's location were cut off from the rest of the city by two major highways. It was also the site of riots in 2006 triggered by a controversial cartoon depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad. The Copenhagen-based architects experienced the vandalism and violence of these riots in the streets outside their office, just after designing a downtown mosque, and decided to focus on creating urban spaces to promote integration across ethnicity, religion, culture, and languages.

The designers see the park as not a finite project but an "artwork in progress." The design is based on dreams that could transform into objects and is meant to make people of diverse backgrounds feel at home. It uses humour to represent the different cultures in a respectful manner.

Commissioned in June 2008, the design process lasted from January 2009 until February 2010, with construction between August 2010 and June 2012. The project cost $8,879,000 USD.

The project was rewarded with a 2013 AIA Honor Award in the Regional & Urban Design category by the American Institute of Architects. It was shortlisted for Design of the Year by the Design Museum in London as well as for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture. Superkilen was also one of six winners of the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture recognized for promoting integration of the various religious and ethnic groups living in the area despite tensions between immigrant and host populations, with a mix of humour, history, and hubris.

Various tourist platforms list the park as one of Copenhagen's top ten must-visit sites. Many advertisements have used the park as a background.

Stretching some 750 metres (2,460 ft) along either side of a public cycle track and covering a total area of some 30,000 square metres (320,000 sq ft), Superkilen is made up of three main areas: a red square, a black market and a green park. While the red square, painted bright red, orange and pink, focuses on recreation and modern living, the black market at the centre is the classic square with a fountain where neighbours can meet, with its barbecue grills and palm trees from China, an "urban living room". The green park, literally entirely green, has rolling hills, trees and plants suitable for picnics, sports and dog-walking.