Denmark’s Urban Haven

In recent times, residents of cities have tried to stop the architecture of their streets being used as a playground for the adventurous. Here in Denmark, they have an exception to the rule, allowing its youth to take to the rinds and bends of the concrete in ways never seen by the naked eye before.

In the city of Haderslev, south Denmark, a building called the StreetDome was built with the sole intention of keeping crime away from the streets, creating a hub for the souls the city once lost. In turn, the "street copula," as it is now titled, has become the Mecca of the disenfranchised thanks to word of mouth and the dedication of its followers in the DIY culture stratosphere.

Designed by the CEBRA and Gilfberg + Lykke Studios, the StreetDome caters to multiple different sporting activities, including: running via multiple sports tracks, climbing via premiere indoor climbing walls, and skateboarding/rollerblading via onsite skate parks. The location itself sits aside the river Haderslev Fjord, a large body of water that runs for many miles along the banks of the city. You can get a sense that the river somehow inspired parts of the architecture of the building, with the skatepark outside acting as a offbeat moat to an otherwise retro concrete hill, a hill that just so happens to house even more intrigue when looking at it from afar.

Construction on the StreetDome began in 2011, with completion falling not that far behind in 2014. Its giant white pipes have almost become as iconic as the dome structure itself, as various pieces of street art cascade around the structure in black and white. If you look closely you can see the images of various sea-life such as crabs and sharks, an ironic statement given what sits just beside the park. The location itself was designed in a very modern setting, one that is fused with influences of outside pieces of architecture with the intent of being able to marvel at it from above, clearly identifying it from the other landmarks that course throughout the city of Haderslev.

The plans to create the StreetDome began roughly around a decade before construction. The idea was simple: to create a location where people of all ages and backgrounds could meet to enjoy different levels of recreational activities. This is what Morten Hansen, chairman of the Skate City Association, pitched this as to the city. Needless to say that Morten and his organisation were more than successful in their efforts to erect such a vision.

Once inside the dome, one can gain a sense of euphoria; this is due to the various windows that allow the sun to ricochet from each surface inside. It's almost as if you are residing within the confines of a kaleidoscope, an obvious design choice from the buildings architects. In order to reduce running costs, the StreetDome has no heating and features no indoor lighting; the only light it receives is powered by the sun. Spanning 40 metres long, the inside structure can be fitted to the requirements of many different sporting activities from the likes of basketball to climbing; lots to experience indeed.

The StreetDome hasn't been around that long but that hasn't deterred it from reaching its goals: to provide a feeling of homely escapism for the many citizens who wander the city in search of something new.

“I was once lost in crime,” skateboarder Pov explains. “How many other cities would give their youth an entire area to come and be free? I don’t know any. All my friends come here, I’ve even made friends who aren’t from Denmark here. You see professional boarders all the time, that’s just the power of this place. It’s so beautiful, almost like its own country.”