City rejects Tivoli’s glass-fronted complex

Tivoli spokesperson says they were surprised by the City Council’s decision and that their plan would have been an asset for Copenhagen

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Sep 13, 2013

Tivoli’s redevelopment plans are too ambitious according to the City Council, which has turned down the amusement park's proposal for a 8,500 sqm glass-fronted hotel, restaurant and shopping complex.

With wider cycle paths and a tree-lined pavement, the amusement park wanted to make a better impression on travellers leaving Copenhagen Central Station on the other side of the street.

But with three votes for, and seven against, the development entitled Tivoli Edge will have to go back to the drawing board.

Too expressive
“SF, Socialdemokraterne, Dansk Folkeparti, and Enhedslisten are positive about the new building plans for the corner of Vesterbrogade and Bernstorffsgade,” the Technical and Environmental Committee stated, according to Politiken newspaper. “The parties find, however, that the project is too dominating. The parties will gladly take a look at a new and less expressive project that better joins Copenhagen and Tivoli.”

The decision is an unexpected setback for Tivoli, especially given that the plan had been developed in collaboration with the City Council.

A surprise decision
“It was a real surprise,” Tivoli spokesperson Ellen Dahl told The Copenhagen Post. “There was no indication from the committee that it would end up like this. We have been in close contact with the civil servants while getting the proposal ready. There was no indication it would be controversial.”

The original plans for Tivoli Edge were presented in 2008 and envisioned a far more substantial development all along its Vesterbro-facing edge.

But according to Dahl, it was the development's style, not its scale, that the City Council disapproved of, though she cannot understand why.

“In our view it’s great architecture and would be an asset for Tivoli and for Copenhagen,” Dahl said.

Pondering the next move
Dahl said that Tivoli does not have the opportunity to appeal against the decision and would instead take some time to consider its next move.

The amusement park had originally hoped to have all the planning permission ready by June 2014, but Dahl could not confirm how the decision has affected this timetable.

Tivoli Edge was designed by US architecture firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners – one of its founders, IM Pei, designed the Louvre’s glass pyramid – and was expected to cost in the hundreds of millions of kroner.