beautiful roads - · pdf file5 the danish road directorate formulated its "strategy for...

Smukke veje - en håndbog om vejarkitektur

Beautiful Roads A Handbook of Road Architecture

2 Beautiful Roads - A Handbook of Road Architecture

Danish Road DirectorateNiels Juels Gade 13P.O.B. 15691020 Copenhagen KDenmark

Tel.: +45 33 93 33 38Fax: +45 33 15 63 35

Title: Beautiful Roads - A Handbook of Road Architecture

Year of publication: 2002

Project group: Ulla Egebjerg, Peter Friis, Niels Lützen, Niels Tørsløv, Barbara le Maire Wandall

Expert groups: Anders Aagaard Poulsen, Aarhus County; Stig L. Andersson, Stig L. Andersson Landskabsarkitekter ApS; Lars Bolet, Funen County; Per Glad, Odense Municipality; Ejner O. Hansen, Møller & Grønborg; Jens Kramer, Bjergsted Municipality; Hans E. Pedersen, Funen County; Anders G. Petersen, Næstved Municipality; Philip Rasmussen, Philip Rasmussens Tegnestue; Jens Terp, Næstved Municipality; Uffe Wainø, Thing & Wainø Landskabsarkitekter ApS; Jørgen Wümpelmann, COWI; Jan Ole Zindorff Rasmussen, Vejle County

From the Danish Road Directorate: Anette Boysen, Vibeke Forsting, Anne Mette Fuglsang, Søren Gludsted, Jens Holmboe, Jochim Kempe, Jens Lützen, Lene Michelsen, Mie Nielsen, Sven Krarup Nielsen, N. Chr. Skov Nielsen, Jens Pedersen, Mette Plejdrup, Anders Plovgaard, Lars Juhl Poulsen, Steffen Rasmussen, Charlotte Roerslev, Michael Schrøder, Peter Simonsen,

Photos: Stig L. Andersson, Flemming Bach, Peter Bandtholtz, Lars Birger, C. H. L. Peter von Blücher, Lone van Deurs, Ulla Egebjerg, Foto Grafik og Design, Peter Friis, Dennis Lund, Niels Lützen, Ib Møller, Knud Nielsen, Kurt Nørregård, Claus Peuckert, Marie Grum Schwensen, Steen Vedel, Uffe Wainø, Barbara le Maire Wandall, Danish Road Directorate

Layout: Ole Søndergaard MDD

Translation: Martha Gaber Abrahamsen

Copyright: Danish Road Directorate

Edition 1.

Published by: Danish Road Directorate

Net-ISBN: 87-7923-441-0

Excerpts may be reprinted when the source is credited. The handbook (CD) can be requisitioned by calling the Danish Road Directorate’s bookstore, tel. +45 46 74 01 07, e-mail: [email protected]

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Contents

Beautiful Roads - A Handbook of Road Architecture

Foreword 5

Introduction 7Road architecture

Road Architecture and Related Subjects 8

Basic Concepts in Road Architecture 17Methods 22

The character of different road types 24Roads in the open countryside 27

Freeways 27Bypass roads 28Main roads 28Highways 28Road geometry in the open countryside 30

Roads in new urban areas 33Approach roads 34Roads in industrial and commercial areas 35Roads in housing developments 36Residential roads 36Road geometry in the planned town 37

City streets 39Big streets 40Main streets and shopping streets 40Ordinary streets 40Road geometry in the city 43

Details and Unity 45Architectural tasks 46Design tasks 48

Paving 51Lighting 52Plantings 54

Maintenance 58

The Checklist System 60Checklists as a tool in planning 63

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The Danish Road Directorate formulatedits "Strategy for Beautiful Roads" in 1995to set out objectives for work with thearchitectural and visual aspects of roadplanning.

The strategy describes a number of aimsfor old and new roads that could be usedin education, planning, information, and quality control in order to create themost harmonious and best-designedroads possible. The Danish RoadDirectorate has issued a number ofreports on architectural themes in roadplanning to augment the strategy.

Work has been done with architectureand visual qualities in road building for several decades. Architecturalconsiderations have dictated the align-ment and other design aspects of theDanish freeway network, and thisnetwork in fact largely sets the standardfor Danish road architecture. In cities, thedesign of pedestrian streets, shoppingdistricts, and traffic-calming measures in residential streets have also gainedincreasing importance

Since practically all road projects todayreceive critical attention from many sides, architectural and aesthetic considerations

should be given equal weight in the initial preparatory and planning stages along with other aspects.

This handbook contains a number ofgeneral and thematic descriptions ofgood road architecture and moreover provides an introduction to the use of a checklist system in the planning,implementation, and maintenance stages.

The checklists do not hold all the answersand neither do they describe the easiestway to create beautiful roads. They provide a method for carrying out qualitycontrol by posing a number of relevantquestions intended to minimize unintentional mistakes. High-qualityarchitecture requires insight into thespecific project, technical factors, thelandscape, historical and biologicalcontexts, and a well-developed talent for both overall and detailed design.

The ambition of this handbook is for road building to be based on a jointunderstanding of the interrelationshipamong aesthetic enjoyment, good architecture, good technical quality, good workmanship, traffic safety, and good economy.

Henning Christiansen

Foreword


Henning ChristiansenDirector General

Why we need road architecture

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Road architecture Architecture is an art form that is boundup with utilitarian, technical, andeconomic considerations and with the"sense of place" and physical conditions ofa site. Architecture is thus often describedas a balancing and coordination ofaesthetic, functional, and technologicalconsiderations.

Road architecture is even moreemphatically tied to a locality and concrete conditions. This makes specificdemands of technical design, safety,visibility, and lighting. Since aestheticconsiderations must be incorporated into these premises, the potentials forvariation are limited.

Road architecture is moreover distinctivein that much of its aesthetics is dictatedby the surroundings themselves. Creatingroad architecture consists in seeing and

understanding these qualities andincorporating them into our aestheticexperience of the road.

This handbook is intended for all those involved in planning roads: clients, project managers and planners,architects, and landscape architects, butalso others interested in the appearanceof our roads, for example politicians andthe public.

The handbook gives a general descriptionof a number of subjects that areimportant for road architecture. It alsoillustrates how aesthetic considerationscan be incorporated into various roadprojects.

The handbook supplements a set ofchecklists that follow a project through a series of general questions that all deal with architectural conditions. Thechecklists contain questions for all thestages of a road project, from planning to implementation, startup, and main-tenance.

Introduction


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The road and landscape interact, andtheir interaction is important forplanning. When a new road is beingplanned, decisions are made at an earlystage on its alignment that will later havea major influence on how we experiencethe road aesthetically.

Types of projectsDecisions on existing plantings, water,soil, the natural environment, and the relationship to buildings and otherfacilities are decisive for creating abeautiful road.

Improving existing roads is a differentprocess, in which more attention must be paid to users, business and industry,residents, existing landscapes and urbanspaces, squares, interchanges, parking facilities, etc. A number of very differentfactors consequently play a role in roadarchitecture: historical heritage, civil-engineering work, traffic safety, ecology,legislation, other planning, economicinterests, etc. All these factors influenceroad architecture and must be dealt with by taking an overall architecturalapproach to planning.


Road Architecture and Related Subjects

Traffic safety Aesthetics

Planning

Ecology

Road architecture Construction/

civil engineering

History

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HistoryMany Danish roads are several centuriesold. Instead of being planned, these roads emerged naturally and typically follow old property lines between fieldsand natural divisions in the landscape.The alignment of these roads reflects the period’s modes of transportation, on either horseback or foot and later bycarriage and wagon.

Proper road projects and roadarchitecture in a modern sense first emerged in Denmark in 1761, whenFrederik V decided to establish a nationalnetwork of main roads. Since there wasno local expertise, road engineers werebrought in from France to construct themodern thoroughfares of the day. Thesenew, almost ruler-straight royal roads,which were laid out mainly on the islandof Zealand, were built according to theperiod’s principles for military roads, high in the terrain. Almost a centurypassed before this network wascompleted. In addition to main roads, a number of new secondary roads werelaid out according to the same principlesat the same time.

The Road Ordinance of December 13,1793, Denmark’s first compilation of roadlegislation, contained regulations on howroads were to be laid out – their structure,cross-section, alignment, etc. Theordinance also contained rules on roadequipment. Trees were to be plantedalong the new roads to protect travelersagainst wind and weather. This is theorigin of many of the roads that wereplanted with rows of trees to provide shade and guide travelers. These roadscharacterized the Danish landscape untilthe 1950s, when increasing vehicular traffic required wider thoroughfares, making it necessary to cut down trees.This sparked a major debate for andagainst roadside trees, a debate that isstill going on.

Industrialization, which got under way inDenmark in earnest at the end of the 19thcentury, had caused mass migration tothe rapidly growing cities. Copenhagen,in particular, changed, with new quartersspringing up outside the old city limitsand more major roads being laid out.

During the second half of the 19thcentury, highways lost their importancefor long-distance transport, which was taken over by the railroads, and not manynew highways were built during this period. Not until vehicular traffic beganto grow in earnest in the course of the1920s did roads again become increasing-ly important. When dust from dirt roadsbecame a nuisance, it was necessary to pave highways, which were simulta-neously expanded to accommodate thegrowing traffic. During this period(1920s-1930s), a number of new roadswere also laid out and several largebridges built.

The freeway also made its advent, especially in Germany, where rules wereeven laid down for freeway design andhow the road was to be incorporated intothe landscape. These principles werefollowed when the first Danish freewayswere built at the beginning of the 1950s.

Steadily increasing vehicular trafficfollowing the Second World Warnecessitated major expansions of the road network, with the primary focus onfreeways. Since these large-scale projectshad a serious impact on the landscape,architects and landscape architects werebrought in at the planning stage, givingthem major influence on the roads’design and their integration into thelandscape.

City streets also gained new architecturalimportance. The goal was to create morebeautiful cityscapes and streets, and as a whole improve the urban milieu.Other factors were also including in thisplanning, for example improving trafficsafety.

Both the road’s own history and that of itssurroundings may be taken into accountin choosing the right architectural design.


The Baroque avenues thatlinked manors with thelandscape later became atheme for road architecturein many European countries.

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Road legislation and the RoadStandardsNeither legislation nor regulations can create beauty, good architecture, or attractive roads. Legislation can, however, indirectly help us improve thenecessary conditions and potentials forincorporating aesthetic aspects into roaddesign.

A number of Danish laws, regulations,and norms have an influence on roadarchitecture. The most importantinclude:

The Road Act, which sets down the division of responsibility among thestate, counties, and municipalities

The Act on Publicly Accessible PrivateRoads, which defines responsibility andauthority for these roads

The Act on Nature Conservation, whichdefines a framework for non-destructivebehavior and construction in thelandscape

The Environmental Act, which in a broad

sense provides a framework for thedesign of Denmark’s traffic system

The Planning Act, which ensures thatcounties and municipalities carry outphysical planning in a way that ensurescohesion, revisions, and approval ofplanning issues by including public participation. The content and use oflocal plans are described in this act.

Local plans comprise an intermediatelevel between legislation and actual planning. The local plan is often drawnup as a direct extension or an integratedpart of the actual planning process.

The Road Standards are formulated bythe Road Standards Committee on behalfof the Minister for Transport to create the basis for a Danish road network withuniform characteristics and a generallygood traffic-safety standard. The RoadStandards provide norms, guidelines,and instructions for the construction,use, and maintenance of roads, includingtheir relationship to their surroundings.The Road Standards ensure goodtechnical design.


The new Ørestad quarter.

Arne Jacobsens Boulevard, flanked by canals andfour rows of plane trees, runs across the urbanstrip, whose structure follows the competition’sconcept.

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PlanningPlanning – especially under municipalauspices – is of great importance for roadarchitecture. Urban development andland allocation are controlled throughplanning, which sites and defines roadslong before their concrete design haseven been considered.

Architectural work is done at a laterpoint, for example when a new housingdevelopment is built. This is why it isimportant at an early stage of planning to form an impression of how the roadsshould be designed, whether there arevariations among the different road categories, plantings, etc.

The streets’ character and design areoften set out in great detail in generalplans for the city center, individualquarters, and urban-renewal projects.These are also where the overallimpression of a quarter is determined,providing a good opportunity tocoordinate road structure and architec-tural treatment.


A graphic presentation of the boulevard as itwill look in 30 years. Jeppe Aagaard Andersen,landscape architect.

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Traffic safetyTraffic safety and road architecture areinterlinked in many ways.

Roads and streets should be designed in a clear and simple way to facilitate orien-tation for all users. It should be easy formotorists to get an overview of the road,sidewalks, bicycle paths, and side-roadjunctions.

Roads should also be designed to ensure that motorists comply with the legal speed limit. Users should clearly understand the roads’ standard so thatthey do not exceed safe speeds.

Roads with high speed limits should giveusers a clear and unequivocal picture ofthe road space from a suitable distance.Road architecture can create a calmframework with some measure ofpredictability, giving the road continuityand eliminating unpleasant surprises.

Safety also depends on providing enoughroom for traffic. Structures, plantings,and the terrain must not surprise the motorist or interfere with his vision oroverview.

There might be a discordant profusion ofbuildings, markings, and road equipment.Businesses along the road might try to attract attention with advertising, produc-ing a chaotic, distracting environment.

Poorly marked crossroads and confusingcurves in the open countryside are dan-gerous for users; plantings and lightingcan be used to make them clearer.

The Danish Road Directorate has issued a handbook on local traffic-safety plans(1998) and a proposal for standards forplantings in the open countryside(2002).


A confused road picture causestraffic-safety problems.

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EcologyEnvironmental and ecological aspects are gaining increasing influence on allphysical planning. Taking a stand onthem is also part of every road project.

Road transport is a significant source ofair and noise pollution and moreover hasother negative consequences – accidents,insecurity, the barrier effect, a drop inscenic value.

Since some of these detrimental effectscan be reduced through proper planning,an overall study of the relationshipbetween the traffic system and theenvironment should be made at theplanning stage. Afterwards, planningdecisions must be followed up whendetailed work is done on the road design.

Danish law requires that all major roadprojects be subjected to an environmentalimpact assessment (EIA). The goal is toenable politicians, civil servants, and thepublic to evaluate the environmentaladvantages and disadvantages of a newproject.

An EIA must include the following:• A description of the project• A list of alternatives that have been

considered• A detailed description of the project’s

impact on the surroundings and environment – including traffic accidents, noise and air pollution, the barrier effect, insecurity – as well as impact on the landscape, cultural heritage, soil, water, fauna, flora, raw materials, and refuse depots

• A description of assessment methods• A description of the project’s

environmental optimization• A list of technical deficiencies or

missing information.

The road’s relationship to thesurroundings plays a major role. Every

big road constitutes a barrier that has anenormous influence on the people who live around it, but also on habitats andplant and animal species.

A growing recognition of the road’s impact on the physical environment resulted in the Road Directorate’s guide-lines for fauna and human passages. Theguidelines describe the barrier effect andits consequences and give instructions on and examples of passage locations and

designs. The guidelines also set down thedivision of responsibility for planning andmaintenance. Another publication fromthe Road Directorate describes therelationship between noise control anddesign in devising noise screens.

Environmental and ecological interests in road planning also have architecturalaspects, opening up new potentials for including landscape elements in a newcontext.


Fauna passages over and under roads can helpincrease the motorist’s contact with nature.

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AestheticsOur view of the landscape is generallyconservative; we would like to hold on toa familiar image of it. A landscape that ischaracterized as untouched, unspoiled,or original usually evokes positivereactions. If a landscape is changed, incontrast, we say that values have been lost.

This means that we often limit activitiesthat can change the status quo. Forexample, we do not permit constructionalong our coasts, and we want topreserve landscape elements such asditches, woods, and hedgerows, althoughtoday the small family farms where theycan be found are rare.

Conservatism also prevails in roadarchitecture. Byroads planted with treesand beautifully integrated into the landscape give us a "genuine" experiencethat we can only get by leaving the "bigroads."

This aesthetic conservatism has helpedpreserve the landscape’s original beauty,but it can also hinder innovation. Roadarchitecture can create new aestheticvalues based on existing conditions.

This conflict is more obvious in cities, butalso more easily influenced. A great dealof construction and building is going ontoday, and much of the work is urbanrenewal that preserves old buildings.New architecture is also being added, tothe tune of much debate. The commonconcept of urban beauty is provoked by a different kind of architecture and newideas.


Efforts are made to preserve and calm city centers. On Østre Kirkevej in Herning, this was done by recreating the classical paving.

15Beautiful Roads - A Handbook of Road Architecture

Ancient monuments such as burial mounds are exciting attractions that put thelandscape’s history in relief. Holbæk road, Jerslev.


Randers Ringboulevard is a unity andthe noise screen’s design is part of theoverall concept.

Architecture – and road architecture –can be explained with architecturalconcepts such as scale, structure, space,and identity. These concepts are necessa-ry for an understanding of both city andlandscape and can give an overview ofmost road-planning projects.

ScaleScale actually means a series of steps – as in a musical scale – but the term isused in architecture in the sense of ameasure or dimension. A landscapeconsists of different scales that form various relationships.

Scale in architecture is described asperceivable, nonperceivable, andrelative.

A perceivable scale means that we canunderstand the size of an object in relation to the size of the human body.We can understand a building’s sizebecause the stories are denoted withrecognizable elements such as doors and windows.

A nonperceivable scale, in contrast, meansthat the human body cannot be used as afactor for judging the sizes of silos,pylons, and large bridges, for example.

In relative scale, size has been changedfrom familiar dimensions, for symbolic,architectural, or political reasons.Examples are the impressive, massive doors and windows of a cathedral, castle, or courthouse compared with thehuman body’s dimensions. Large urbanspaces and historical Baroque gardensand avenues also display some of theintentional, powerful effect that can beachieved using relative scale.

In road planning, we can also speak of a dynamic scale, in which speed isincorporated into the experience. The ornamental bushes at a rest stop mightlook beautiful when we park there, but it is senseless to plant them along afreeway, since we cannot take in thisscale at high speeds.

We have an agreement of scales when wework with elements on the same scale.Roads in the open landscape belong inthe landscape’s large scale, andagreement is achieved by making theroad fit in using elements on the samescale, for example forests andhedgerows.

A contrast of scales is achieved by mixingelements of very different sizes, forexample laying out flowerbeds along large roads.

A unity of scales is achieved whenelements of increasing sizes create a transition between the smallest and the largest scale.

In landscape architecture, plantings are often used to convey this transitionfrom one scale to another. By plantingavenues or individual trees along roadsand streets, for example, a transition of scales is created between the smallscale of flower tubs, street furniture, andshop windows and the larger scale of thecityscape.

Basic Concepts in Road Architecture


The bridge over the Great Belt, with itsimpressive pylons, is an example ofnonperceivable scale. We feel very small,but also secure, in crossing the Great Belton a bridge that we are reasonably surewon’t fall down.

A unity of scales between the road’sgeometry and its different elementshas been achieved on this residentialroad in Ikast.

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StructureIn architecture, structure describes theway in which a city or a landscape is builtup. The concept refers to a principle or apattern, but not necessarily a preciselyrepeated pattern.

The landscape’s structure can vary agreat deal. Structure is important forroad planning since perceivable land-scape elements are used in relation to a given road project.

The structure of a medieval city is quite different from that of a city built in the functionalist era with regard togeometry, sizes, distances, buildingforms, road widths, etc.

A road structure is the city’s network of different roads, each with its specialpurpose, which create a system thatfunctions in a distinctive way for the cityin question.

The road’s structure reflects the prin-ciples according to which this road wasbuilt up, for example the spacing oflighting sources, the spacing and speciesof trees, changes in the paving, etc.

Older roads often have a random designstructure, resulting from repairs carriedout here and there over the years.Creating unity from this randomness isan important task. The structure of newroads, in contrast, can be decided uponfrom the beginning, based on an overallidea.

SpaceThe different spaces in a landscape canbe compared to the rooms in a house.The sky is the ceiling, the earth the floor, and landscape elements such ashedges, forests, and terrain create moreor less important walls in a room that is furnished with trees, buildings, and roads.

In the city’s "room," buildings, plantings,masonry, etc. are the walls, while thepaving is the floor.

A well-defined room is not too large andprovides intimacy, calm, and protection.A diffuse room is expansive and providesa view, an overview, excitement, anddrama.

An understanding – and use – of space iscentral in road planning. The landscapecontributes to the road a number of spatial progressions determined bynatural and cultural conditions.

This visual range is experienced from theroad. By studying spatial conditions at anearly stage, planners can decide on whatthe motorist will see and experience fromthe road. Often quite small changes inthe alignment or design can providegreater spatial variation, for example a view, and consequently give a richer visual experience.


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IdentityThe term "identity" is used in roadarchitecture to describe the project’scharacter. A project can gain an identityby being associated with a speciallandscape, for example.

When we say that a landscape has itsown identity, we are naturally attributingcharacteristics to it. Examples of land-scapes with a strong identity aremarshlands and moors. It is difficult tochange these landscapes without themlosing their identity, and consequentlythe feeling of identity we experiencewhen we visit them.

The landscape’s identity must con-sequently be taken into account when aroad project is being designed. We mustevaluate whether the road can contributeto or should be dominated by thisidentity, or alternately, whether the roadshould give the landscape a completelynew identity.



Unity and contextUnity is often an important element inour view of urban and rural architecture,and a decisive concept for road archi-tecture. Roads and streets themselvescreate new unities but are experiencedlargely together with their surroundings.

Many cities are working to recreate andstrengthen the identity of the city center.In order to achieve this unity, roads mustbe well designed and coordinated withtheir surroundings.

An integrated or independent element?A road can harmonize with the land-scape’s rhythm in different ways. If thegoal is a road environment that isdominated by its surroundings, it doesnot necessarily have to be planted. Onegoal of planting might be to accentuate a character that is already present in thelandscape.

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The road can also be an independent element in relation to its surroundings, a unity that remains unchanged in thelandscape types that it crosses. If the roadis intended to be experienced as an independent element, a strong archi-tectural statement must be made toemphasize this character. The road mustprovide a beautiful experience in itselfand not because of its surroundings, haveunity on its own premises.

Both principles can yield distinctive andbeautiful results but uncertainty aboutwhich principle should be chosen canproduce an architecturally untenabledesign.

Simplicity or diversity?Designing a road is not a matter of just giving rein to ideas and trying to realizethem. It is much more a question of

keeping them in check, choosing the best,and developing them as recurrentthemes.

Simplicity in both form and material canpose difficulties in the creative process,but simple, sturdy choices nonethelesshelp make roads beautiful.

A simple design heightens intensity andhighlights the concept, making it clearerto the observer. Since roads and streetsoften interact with highly varied sur-roundings, it is important for the projectto be easily grasped, clear, and under-standable.


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Methods

Although there is a demand for methodsto be used in planning beautiful roads, itis impossible to formulate specific guide-lines for how good road architecture canbe created. The quality of a specificdesign is always based on the site andproject’s conditions and on the planner’sknowledge and skill. Methodological means such as different types of analysescan, however, be used for structuringand illustrating the foundation on whichdecisions must be made.

Landscape analysesIt is fundamentally important to knowand understand the composition of alandscape or a city before a decision ismade on where a road should be located.Much of the preparatory work is to drawin the elements found in a landscape andthen systematize them.

Physical, historic, cultural, and environ-mental criteria can be used to registerand systematize the content of a land-scape or city, and these elements can beanalyzed to give them values.

Even the most comprehensive landscapeanalyses, however, cannot guarantee agood and beautiful project. The methodsprovide an overall view but do notexempt the planner from assessing andmaking personal choices.

Section analysesChanges in a road or street are oftenbased on section analyses. The road is divided into sections with different characters or functions. Content andother aspects that may influence theroad architecture are reviewed and usedas a basis for further design work.

Altering or laying out a street that is richin detail and variation is often an archi-tectural task comparable to constructinga building. Important details are regis-tered, surveyed, and sketched out, andall conditions are assessed. A sketch ismade of the project, either taking the entire section or varying parts toharmonize with the surroundings.


Each section in the analysis isillustrated with simple sketches.

Section analysis and proposal for the Isterød road project, from the report on road aesthetics andtraffic safety, Danish Road Directorate

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Consequence analysesA consequence analysis is a visualassessment of a road progression in aproject sketch or plan. It can describeviews, how we experience a spatial progression, the road alignment, andtechnical facilities. Consequence analysisis also used to assess the project’s impacton its surroundings. The method was developed in conjunction with theconstruction of a number of freewaysections in around 1970.

A careful mapping-out of different sitingsand alignments is a highly practical andeasily understandable tool for judgingthe future appearance of a road and itsimpact on the surroundings. As a rule,there is an interaction between idea andanalysis in reaching the final project,where the ideal situation is that nearly allparameters have been taken into account.

The sense of place The sense of place can be described asthe inspiration that can be derived fromour immediate experience of a locality.

This experience is not necessarily boundup with rational considerations. We mustbe present on the site and let impressionsaffect our senses.

A direct experience of the sense of placecan provide an important impetus for thecreative process.

It can also be a decisive factor during theprocess, when analytical conclusionsblock the flow of ideas or when a choicehas to be made between two ideas that intheory seem equally good.


Route 9 between Odense and Svendborg is upgraded to a freeway. Through visualization on an aerialphotograph, the project is clearly illustrated and its consequences for the landscape can be assessed accordingly.

The residential road’s design signals aninformal spirit.

The way we experience a road isimportant for our familiarity with andunderstanding of open landscapes. By far most of our contact with nature,farmland, and forests takes placethrough a car window. This must beconsidered when roads are planned and designed.

The motorist sees the landscape like amovie that runs in long sequences. In theopen countryside, the road and journeyare experienced in interplay with the surroundings, and the landscape is partof the experience as far as the eye cansee.

Variation and rhythm are consequentlyalso part of our travel experience. We are stimulated by variation but dulled bymonotony. At high freeway speeds, thelandscape’s large scale is what attracts

the motorist’s attention. On smallerroads at lower speeds, the landscape’ssmaller elements become part of theuser’s experience.

The Character of Different Road Types


Denmark’s impressive freeway bridges provide a fine driving experience, an attraction for thelocality, and an important milestone along theway.

The open rows of poplars along Dutch highwaysenhance both the beautifully designed road andthe farmland that surrounds it.

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The bicyclist’s experienceDanish municipalities and counties have planned and laid out an extensivenetwork of bicycle paths in recentdecades. Entirely new dedicated bicyclepaths have been built and bicycle pathslaid out along roads. Bypaths, aban-doned railroad tracks, and forest roadshave also been incorporated into thebicyclepath network.

The bicyclist’s experience of the land-scape is different from the motorist’s. It is more intense because of his closercontact with the surroundings, slowerspeed, and greater physical movement.Long, monotonous sections seemprotracted and quickly become tiring,while small detours to more varied land-scapes can make the trip more attractive.The bicyclist generally has manyopportunities to get off into the country-side on paths that motorists cannot use.

While the bicycle path between homeand work is intended to take the bicyclistto his destination quickly and safely, thetourist’s route must be planned carefullyto make it as varied and interesting aspossible. This is done by exploiting thevariety already found in the landscape.Good rest stops, vantage points, detailedinformation, and proper signage arenecessary prerequisites for a pleasantjourney.

Culture and nature as effectsThe travel experience can also be boundup with the landscape’s historicalfeatures. Cultural offerings can tempt the motorist to break his trip down intosmaller sections. The motorist should beable to see historical sites; churches, castles, manors, and old mills shouldhave an influence on both the road’salignment and its plantings.

Many old roads form an important cultural environment together with their surroundings. Cultural featuressuch as bridges, milestones, inns,plantings, monuments, and stone wallsare found along the roads and are part of a historical road environment that should be protected and preserved in its entirety.

The landscape’s natural elements providegood and inexpensive architecturaleffects. Landscape types, terrain shapes,bodies of water, forests and other kindsof vegetation can contribute to a pleasantand varied driving experience and be important landmarks on a trip. Proximityto naturally beautiful areas consequentlyplays an important part in choosing the road’s alignment. It is also importantto make motorists aware of nearby oralternative routes with naturalattractions, giving them opportunities to decide whether they want to enjoy the sights or save time by driving on bigroads at high speeds.


Paths give the bicyclist a much better opportunitythan other road users to visit the most remotelandscapes.

Even dominating freeways provide viewsof beautiful nature areas on a large scale.Sdr. Felding Ådal

The bicyclist can also experience the intimacyof the cultural landscape better than the motorist.

Lindens at Gunderslevholmare still trimmed the wayroadside trees were twocenturies ago and providea unique historical roadmilieu.

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FreewaysDenmark’s freeway network was laid outafter the Second World War. Althougharchitectural aspects were alreadyincluded in the work of siting anddesigning the first freeways, not until the end of the 1960s were the factorsgiven a more permanent status to ensurethat new roads harmonized with thelandscape. At the same time, work beganto improve the design of road equipment.

Today careful attention is paid to all newfreeway projects, four-lane highways, and expressways, with architectural aspects given high priority. Denmark alsohas a good tradition of collaborationamong engineers, architects, landscapearchitects, and clients that yields visibleresults in the landscape.

Active and goal-oriented political will and good planning have made Danish freeways distinctive for their simpledesign.

A characteristic feature of Danish free-ways is a careful treatment of the land-scape and terrain that rarely producesstark contrasts. Signage and other equip-ment are kept at a minimum and theabsence of billboards, art, and otherdistracting and defacing elements in theroad’s immediate vicinity emphasizes thedesire for clarity and simplicity. Lightingfixtures illuminate feeder lanes and exits,but otherwise there is almost no artificiallighting in the open countryside.


Roads in the open countryside


Bypass roadsAlthough the bypass road is actually nota distinctive road type, it does have a special significance for road architecture.

Formerly, we passed through cities andgained a special impression of them.Today, our impression of many cities isonly a sign along the bypass road.

Bypass roads are generally laid out according to the same principles as majorroads. They are expressways with broadhorizontal and vertical curves and theiralignment is determined by the wish toput a given distance between them andthe city.

Sometimes the city and landscape areviewed from random angles that do notalways accentuate their special qualities.The city’s face on the world is often aseries of noise screens or commercialproperties along the road, with theirsigns, battery of flags, and products ondisplay.

The bypass road can also be encapsulatedin forest belts, which separate it from thebuilt-up areas behind. This cuts off thetown entirely from the road and leavesno impression of it on the motorist.

Greater attention in planning should begiven to making a unity of the bypassroad, the city, and the landscape in orderto enhance our journey and the city’sidentity.

Main roadsMain were altered at an early stage to accommodate increasing vehiculartraffic by straightening and wideningthem and cutting down roadside trees.Although most main roads seem standard-ized and lacking in distinctive aestheticfeatures, many of them do present awealth of fine landscapes.

HighwaysSmaller highways were originallyintended for travel at slow speeds andfollowed the land’s contours. They served as links between towns and otherjunctions and were firmly entrenched in the local landscape.

When these roads were laid out, their impact on the landscape was of minorimportance, and roads were put where itwas most practical. They thus often passthrough beautiful landscapes where newroads cannot be located for environ-mental reasons.

Over the years, many roads have beenstraightened, widened, or supplementedby bicycle paths. This successivemodernization of smaller roads is quite adifferent process from the painstakingarchitectural planning of a freeway.Attention to road architecture is not,however, less important for small roads.The final result must always appear as acontinuous and harmonious progression.Many small highways moreover haveimportant historical and culturalqualities that must be taken into account.

There is intense contact with the surroundingson the vast network of small roads.Krogenlund, Lynge

The bypass road around Skibby,Hornsherred

Assessment of the project:

Section 1Clarified and separated from the town on the section south of it

Section 2Close to town. Conflicts resolved by planting a forest

Section 3Close to town. No screening was necessary in an industrial area since who would need a screen?

Section 3

Section 2

Section 1

30

Road geometry in the open countryside

AlignmentThe road’s alignment and the propor-tions between plane and profile aredecisive for both how the road lies in the landscape and what it is like to driveon it.

Since certain combinations of curve radii can give undesirable effects, thealignment must be assessed visually todemonstrate how the motorist willexperience the road. The clotoid, whichhas gradual transitions between differentradii, provides both good drivingqualities and a harmonious appearance.The clotoid’s form suits the car’smovements better than the shape thatcan be attained with circles and straightlines.

Clotoids are used extensively on freewaysand other major roads, but can also beused on smaller-scale, new roads andwhen small roads are realigned.


The clotoid can be used on both small and largeroads.

The freeway was drawn in a large arc around Albertslund Syd. The space between the roadand the town is used as a recreational area, which in this case was given a special design.

The alignment determines how weexperience a road. In this case, aroad in the bottom of a valley has a limited view, while a location at the top gives the best aesthetic experience.

31

Cross-sectionsThe road’s cross-section is very importantfor how we experience it. Even smalldifferences in the width of the medianstrip or the location of equipment providevery different prospects.

A broad cross-section through a large-scale landscape will emphasize the land-scape’s open character and make it easyfor users to orient themselves. The broadcross-section is consequently well suitedto large roads on which the landscape isviewed at fairly high speeds. Locatingbicycle paths on a level with the roadwaycan help increase this effect.

A narrow and more closed cross-sectionwill give the impression of a corridor, permitting a limited range of vision. Itcan, however, be integrated better intovaried landscapes on a smaller scale andis consequently most suitable for local roads with low speed limits.

The design of slopes has a majorinfluence on how the road is experienced.Gentle slopes are preferable to steep ones.

Steep slopes make the roadway veryconspicuous both from the road and from its surroundings, whether they areplanted or not. A gradient of 1:4 and

1:3 can give a good transition. If the roadis bordered by farmland, a ratio of 1:10should be used, so that the land can be cultivated without steep drops in theterrain. Rounding the top edge of theslope is important in harmonizing the road with the surrounding land. Abroader shoulder both at embankmentsand at ditches helps soften the road andintegrates it better with the landscape.


A gentle slope harmonizes best with thelandscape while a steep slope clashes withit. Illustration from Hela vägen, SwedishNational Road Administration


Three small towns – Svenstrup, Voldby, and Lading – are not farapart and their roads were designed along the same lines.

33

Roads in new urban areas

The planned townNew urban areas have neither the naturalattractions of the open countryside northe historical environment of the old city.

They are planned, industrialized, func-tional residential and work environmentsand they have many fine qualities,providing public services, a variety ofactivities, and proximity to green areas.

The traffic system is an integrated part of the planned town. It must be possibleto get from one place to another quickly,preferably without any problems or unnecessary delay. In many new urbanareas, the different types of traffic areseparated. These planned traffic systemsfunction quite well in most cases. Trafficflows without conflicts among motorists,bicyclists, and pedestrians; there is suf-ficient space for traffic; and a great deal is done to ensure greenery around the roads.

There are also many dull housingdevelopments, however. Separatingtraffic scatters what little urban life there is and rational planning patternscreate monotony.

The suburban milieu is still an area wherearchitecture and landscape architecture –

including road design – will have excitingand challenging work to do. Roads are an important element in this process.Improving the roads’ environs with plant-ings, increasing density, and ensuringgreater contact with the surrounding areas can help create variety and improvethe developments’ identity.


Albertslund Syd is the archetype of the plannedtown.

Lersø Park Allé provides a uniform aestheticexperience through urban quarters of quite variedquality.

Freeway

Residential road

Residential road Secondary local

distributor

Primary local distributor

Path system, at-grade

Main road

34

Approach roads

The role of approach roads in the roadsystem is a complicated one. Their main purpose is to transport motoriststhrough the suburbs to the city centerand simultaneously serve as access andfeeder roads.

These roads might be big, facadeless traffic arteries that are visually separatedfrom the surrounding city because noone wishes to have cars and noise justoutside their door. They might also be older roads – often old highways – that

were gradually expanded to the limits. Insuch cases they also serve as residentialroads. The houses along them are oftenbordered by the sidewalk, with no roomleft for a front yard or trees that couldcontribute aesthetically to the roadenvironment.

Since approach roads provide both thefirst and the last impression a visitor getsof a large town, they are also importanttargets for architectural efforts, as part of the overall work to improve our citiesand suburbs. Some of this work meansmaking housing areas near roads moreattractive. For older roads, specialattention must be paid to paving,equipment, and plantings, since space is often so limited. For modern, larger roads, innovation is needed to transformdisjointed sections into a beautiful roadprogression. Each section must beanalyzed and planned, taking itsdistinctive features into account whilecreating an architecturally unifiedconcept from the open countryside to the center of town.

This is a difficult task, among otherthings because approach roads, adjacentareas, and feeder roads are the provinceof different public authorities.


Thomas B. Thriges Gade is the final stretch of the approach road throughOdense Syd. The street has been improved with new plantings, new lighting,new road equipment, and new buildings.

The approach road accommodates both local and through traffic and the milieu is veryheterogeneous. This road (Roskildevej) is like an open wound cut through the quarter.

35

Roads in industrial andcommercial areas

Roads in industrial areas typically presenta confused picture, with anonymous buildings, parking lots, and storagefacilities. In many cases, companies more-over exploit their location close to theroad to advertise and post signs andbillboards that are out of proportion tothe milieu.

Service facilities and businesses alongroads are both natural and necessary. Road users are the companies’ potentialcustomers and consumers. The visualmessages in the companies’ advertise-ments, however, often compete for the users’ attention. Signs and flags overshadow any visual qualities an area might have.

The Road Directorate’s report on com-mercial areas along freeways and majorarteries (1999) emphasizes that manycompanies themselves want morestringent and well-defined standards for the architectural environment, for example with regard to plantings,signage, and advertisements.

There are business parks today that areplanned, spacious, and green, reflectingthe high priority given to the design ofthe road and its surroundings. Thebuildings’ architecture was given equalattention, and these companies make avery fine impression from the road.

Restrictions on the location of parking,storage facilities, signage, etc. ensure aharmonious and clear overall impression.These industrial parks are amongDenmark’s most attractive commercial districts.


Commercial complexes can present a fine appearance along the road if buildingsand their grounds are taken into account in road planning. Lautrupgård, Ballerup.Road Prize, 1996

36

Roads in housingdevelopments

Suburban housing developments werelargely designed so that buildings facecommon recreational areas set back from the road, which is separated fromthe buildings’ own recreational areas byplantings. This design had a majorimpact on the road’s architectural unifor-mity, the facadeless roads transformingthe look of housing developments. Many developments nonetheless have exciting and well-designed recreationalareas that provide a framework forbeautiful roads with both variety andinteresting features.

These roads are often among thegreenest our cities have to offer.

Residential roads

There are often good, well-planned,green road environments on the suburb’ssmallest urban scale.

The road system in single-family housingquarters is often divided into localdistributors and residential roads, andgardens are rimmed by hedges or fences,in the Scandinavian tradition. Variationsamong the quarters are consequently due primarily to the road profiles, with different parking systems, plantingprinciples, and path arrangements providing variety.

Dense/low-rise housing developmentswere planned and built at a time when legislation on traffic calming and speedreduction, such as quiet roads andpedestrian-priority streets, was taking effect. Residential roads are oftenarchitecturally integrated into thedevelopment as a result. Narrow roadprofiles, paving stones, plantings, etc.call for low speeds on the vulnerableuser’s premises.


The open recreational areas in housingdevelopments form a green unity in interplay with the roadside milieu.

A residential road.

A residential road withopen front yards andgreen adjacent areas.

37

Road geometry in the plannedtown

Developments affect the roadmilieuRoads in new urban quarters were all fun-damentally designed to give the motoristsufficient space and enable him to driveat high speeds. Access and comfort, abun-dant parking, and often very wide areasfor future road expansions were provided.

Major roads were laid out on a grandscale. They have wide cross-sections andan alignment with vertical curves similarto those used for freeways. The town is often hidden behind wide green belts and baffles. The separation of traffic in

certain quarters means that pedestrians,bicyclists, and other urban life cannot beseen from the road.

Lower-category roads also have wide pro-files, but are furnished with sidewalks, bicycle paths, and parking areas. Thecloser we come to residential areas, themore the city and man become part of the road milieu.

The broad cross-sections of local distri-butors and residential roads make highspeeds seem natural, which is why traffic-calming measures have been carried outon many roads over the years. Efforts aremade to reduce speed with humps,chokers, plantings, and other means.

Traffic types have been mixed when newroads are laid out. The urban milieu hasbecome terser, the road profile narrower,and residential roads have beenintegrated into housing developments.


The original and very harmonious road profile isfragmented by the chokers and humps used intraffic-calming measures.

The wide road profile of trees planted in the broad median strip. Kongsholm Allé, Albertslund

The road becomes part of the surrounding park. Lersø Parkallé, Emdrup

The road becomes an integrated part of the houses’ gardens thanksto roadside trees and green shoulders. Residential road, Ikast


The main street in Assens.

39

City streets

The street systems in many large andsmall Danish towns were laid out long before the automobile began to have animpact on urban planning. Today, thehistoric quarters that were built beforethe First World War are the object ofconsiderable attention. After theexplosive urban growth and building of the 1960s, there is renewed interest in preserving the streets’ historic values.

Traffic is an important part of city life. Roads and streets must accommodatetraffic and they dominate the cityscape,for better or worse.

The work to renovate and redesign streets and squares in recent years hashelped raise the quality of the urban environment. Conditions are still difficultbecause pressure from traffic, parkingproblems, and many conflicts of interestlimit the potential for beautification.Some of the urban-renewal projects of the future will consequently consist of renovating entire street sections, sothat the city once again forms a beautifuland unified milieu.


The planning of Odense citycenter

The reorganization of traffic in Odense

center illustrates that planning large

urban quarters can solve both aesthetic

and traffic problems in the city as a

whole. It also shows that beautiful

streets involve much more than

plantings; they also encompass spatial

relationships, buildings, neighboring

areas, and equipment, in one and the

same space.

Urban renewal here was based on

traffic reorganization and should be

seen in the context of work done to

renew housing, business, and commer-

cial interests in the center of town. The

city’s quality was to be accentuated. It

was to be a pleasant place to live and

shop in, easy to reach and leave. This

would give visitors time to take a walk,

especially if there were enough space

and attractions on the way.

The city streets must accommodate manyactivities.

Big streets

In large cities, broad streets andboulevards often carry far more trafficthan they were intended for. Safety andaccessibility requirements have in manycases changed the cross-section andadded a growing number of signs,markings, etc. It is a balancing act to preserve the original quality and beautyof these streets to keep them from beingreduced to transport corridors, ignoringaesthetic aspects and the surroundings.

Main streets and shoppingstreets

Main streets and shopping streets oftenhave the city’s most expensive addressesand most important historical andcultural environments.

This is why a great deal of money is spenton creating beautiful street milieux withattractive and expensive paving, plant-ings, art, and newly designed lighting fixtures. Many main streets have beentransformed into exciting urban spaceswhere traffic is a secondary element.

Renovating less important streets andsquares and renewing plantings canprovide a synergetic effect in manyquarters, making this form of urbanrenewal an important part of municipalurban and road planning.

Ordinary streets

Ordinary streets that have no shops,historical environment, or specialarchitecture are the most common inboth large and small towns.

Ordinary streets might have a mixture of buildings of different ages and withdifferent building styles, some withgardens, others used for commercial purposes. No special care has been takenwith the street scene and it is rarely givenany attention by planners.

40 Smukke veje - en håndbog om vejarkitektur

41

Nonetheless, these streets might be beautiful, among other things becausemany gardens with older vegetation canmake them seem very green and lush.

Planting along the streets themselves, inpublic squares, and on corners can imbuethem with good architectural qualities.New lighting can also make an importantcontribution to such improvements.


43

Road geometry in the city

A detailed cross-sectionThe cross-section has a major influenceon road architecture in urban areas, where even small differences in level areclearly felt. Indifferent treatment of theterrain along sidewalks and buildingsfragments the street’s unity.

The cross-section reflects traffic patternsthat prevailed at the time the roads werebuilt, but very few streets are used todayas they were originally conceived.

Vehicular traffic has become far heavierand requires better space for both the roadway and parking. Bicycle paths needtheir share of the sidewalk, and sidewalkshave in fact become so narrow in many cities that there is no room for pedestrians,trees, shop displays, or other street lifeand equipment.

One challenge for road architecture is todesign the street’s cross-section so that itis beautiful, durable yet can stillaccommodate traffic.


A: Låsbygade, Kolding. A treeless medieval street with parking on alternate sides

B: Willemoesgade, Copenhagen. A street just outside the center of town whose profile has been narrowed with trees and transverse parking

C: Oehlenschlägersgade, Copenhagen. A one-way street just outside the center of town with two rows of parking along the street

D: Frederiksberg Allé, Copenhagen. A boulevard with 4 rows of trees, a promenade sidewalk, and parallel streets with parking on both sides

E: H. C. Andersens Boulevard, Copenhagen. An urban expressway with no trees or parallel streets

Låsbygade, Kolding

Skibby

CBA

D E

45

Details and unity


The importance of designDesign emphasizes the road’s structureand creates identity and distinctiveness.In traffic areas, design can help optimallylimit, simplify, and explain signals andinformation.

In freeway construction, the roadway,bridges, buildings, auxiliary facilities,and equipment are often individualdesign tasks.

Freeways and other large roads oftenseem simple and pleasant to the user,who is not bothered by extraneousfurnishings. This simplicity reflects a deliberate approach to design.

The architecture of small roads has notbeen given the same attention as that offreeways, which dominate the landscape.

The geometry of small roads is oftenfrozen, for better or worse. It is importantto pay attention to details in the existingprofile of these roads. Changes inplantings, adjacent areas, or signage

should make the motorist’s drive morepleasant and integrate the road better into its surroundings.

Functional qualities rather thanarchitectural features characterize roadsin new developments. New seriallymanufactured standard products wereintroduced when large-scale housingdevelopments were built in the 1960sand 1970s.

Some of these products are still standardroad equipment. In some cases they havea good, sturdy, and timeless design. Inmany others, equipment has unfortun-ately not been replaced because itrequires a major effort to develop newfurnishings.

The streets of the inner city are a specialtype because the pace of traffic is slowerhere, enabling us to take in all the details.Gutters, paving, fences, decorations, andstreet furniture consequently take on farmore importance for architecture.

Architectural tasks

Buildings and service facilitiesThere are many good individual designsfor the roads’ different elements, but harmonizing them with the whole andcoordinating them with one another is of decisive importance.

Bridges play a key role in road archi-tecture. The bridge’s form is dictatedprimarily by its construction. A designthat makes the construction clear to the observer gives an idea of how forcesare distributed and absorbed. The goal is simplification, to permit the observerto see the elements that are important.

The bridge’s role in the road systemshould be emphasized, but minor roadsshould not be exaggerated with spectacu-larly designed bridges.

The architecture of buildings alongfreeways should be given high priority.Many gas stations, restaurants, andcafeterias are designed by architects, buttheir commercial message often triumphsover the overall architectural picture.

The rest stop has evolved over the yearsfrom a green lawn with tables andbenches to large expanses with a varietyof facilities, for example playgrounds, refuse sorting, tourist information, andperhaps kiosks and cafeterias. All thesefacilities must be coordinated to producean architectural whole and to harmonizethem with the landscape.

The design of retaining ponds, baffles,and other earthworks is determined bytheir function. The result can be poorlyintegrated facilities whose form isdictated by property borders, without any unity with the landscape.


The basis for bridge design is often simplification,so that the observer sees the elements that areimportant.

Noise screens can also be made of willowhedges planted around a sound-absorbing center.

Randers Ringboulevard is a unity, with the noisescreens part of the overall design.


Noise controlNoise screens are increasingly beingerected in places where growing traffichas created a clash with the road’ssurroundings. The need for noise controlin cities is especially great along approachand ring roads, making noise screens a central factor in how we experienceroads and the cityscape.

As an architectural element, a noise screen is generally undesirable since it can have a negative aesthetic effect on both motorists and residents. The noise screen cuts the road off from the city and provides a completely differentframework for the architecture of both city and road.

The noise screen is so conspicuous thatits location must be carefully chosen, at best making it a pleasant element for both neighbors and motorists. Thescreen’s two different facades must fulfilltwo completely different functions. Sincethe side facing the road is generally seenat high speeds, great emphasis should beplaced on its horizontal overall effect.From the city or residential area, the noise screen is passed at low speeds. It could be part of a housing complex’srecreational area and more emphasiscould be placed on details and individualadaptation to different environments.

Architecturally, the choice should be asimple, uniform scheme with a carefullyconceived design, good materials, andthe emphasis on discretion. Artistictouches, colors, etc. have a tendency to seem like a decoration that is out ofproportion with the element’s size.

The Danish Road Directorate has issued a report (1999) that presents generalexperiences with and advice on noisescreens, supplemented by information on specific noise screens and commentson their architectural aspects.

Design tasks

Road equipmentThere is a firm tradition in Denmark of limiting the use of roadside equipmentand the equipment used is standardizedand simplified as far as possible. With design aimed at simple systematizationand good readability, Danish road signspresent clearly understandable messages.

One special problem in the open country-side is the demand for readability at greatdistances and high speeds. Informationsigns are consequently often quitedominating and special attention must be paid to where the signs are placed. Itis important for how we experience thelandscape, the road, or a building thatsigns be located appropriately in relationto them. We rarely associate suburban roads with design, but they usually dohave standardized equipment such as busstops, benches, fences, lighting fixtures,and bicycle racks.

Although Denmark traditionally makesuse of good design, an overall approachtoo often seems lacking when signs andother furnishings are erected. Denmarkhas produced some well-designed equip-ment in recent years, and work is stillbeing done to develop products that meetthe more stringent requirements set forthe suburban road milieu.

A number of municipalities have drawnup design manuals in their efforts to beautify the city center. Plans forsignage and lighting have also made an important contribution to urban beautification.

MILEWIDE won the Danish Road

Directorate’s 1995 design

competition for noise screens

and road equipment.

The winning entry was designed

and later developed by Knud

Holscher Industrial Design in

collaboration with the Danish

Road Directorate.

MILEWIDE is a comprehensive

range of road equipment and

street furniture. It covers

everything from expressway

and road signage, mast systems,

lighting fixtures, and bus shelters

to street signals.

All the components in MILEWIDE’s

range are homogeneous parts that

make up an aesthetic whole.


49

ArtWorks of art are not commonly foundalong Danish roads and freeways. There are, however, some good examplesof land art and large-scale landscapesculptures that integrate surplus soil, baffles, rainwater facilities, or plantingsinto the landscape’s scale and make ourexperience of the road more interesting.

Most important of all is for a work of artto be created as an integral part of theenvironment and not as a random addition to an impoverished road milieu,something that would make art asdisconsolate as the shopping center’s battery of flags.


Large-scale terrain sculptures can be part of the road architecture. The project for an earth sculptureat Østre Kjersing, where surplus soil was shaped into a domed, flat hill and a linear embankment,was created by Sten Høyer, landscape architect, and Eva Koch, sculptor.


Paving

The city’s floorsThe city’s "floors" might be paved with asphalt, granite, concrete, gravel, or grass. Pattern and material can helpclarify the street space and make it comprehensible, beautiful, andinteresting.

Paving can also emphasize or clarify traffic functions and separations with theuse of changes in paving or level. A calmsurface provides a good background forthe city’s often highly detailed buildings.Too many types of paving and changesfrom one to another, in contrast, attractattention and can make the street spaceseem confusing or chaotic.

PavingNyvej in Glostrup is part of a project

to renew the streets and squares

in the town center. In addition to

plantings and lighting, it also

includes paving. On Nyvej,

pedestrian areas are covered with

black Alta slate.

52

Lighting

Principles for lightingLighting has an important architecturalfunction. Even its physical expression –type of fixture, type and height of mast,location, and spacing – is part of thestreet scene and how we experience it.

Dimensions must be harmonized withthe surrounding scale and the type of fix-ture must illuminate what it is intendedto. There should be minimal illuminationof the surroundings, and attention shouldbe paid to the night sky, the risk of glare,good light color, etc.

Roads in the open countryside are rarelylit in Denmark. Apart from economicaspects, this reflects the view thatlighting should only be used where thereis clearly a risk of conflicts. Lighting isconsequently used only on bridges and at intersections, especially intersectionsthat involve cars, bicycles, andpedestrians.

Lighting for smaller roads largely followsthese principles, though greater use ismade of covered fixtures and shortermasts that reduce the road’s scale andmake it more urban.

Park fixtures are used in residentialareas. The surroundings are moreattractive when a development hasuniform lighting fixtures thatharmoniously emphasize its scale.

Most Danish town centers consist of buildings with two or three stories.Although the buildings are fairly low,their density makes it possible to use special lighting since the buildings act assupplementary reflectors. This can createan urban space with great light intensityyet limit the number of lighting fixtures.

Two distinctive Danish types of urban fixtures are lights mounted on walls andlights suspended between buildings. The right to use the facades of private buildings to attach public lighting keepsthe city’s floor free for traffic and thecity’s architecture from being defaced byfixtures on masts.

The city’s squares present differentconditions, where the wish toaccommodate special activities can beemphasized with spectacular or speciallydirected lighting.


53

Road standards for lightingNew road standards for lighting (1999)place great emphasis on its architecturalqualities, something that should also havean impact on lighting roads in the opencountryside. The standards recommendthat the road system and accessory pathsbe viewed as a unity.

Road authorities are expected to draw up master plans for road lighting thatinclude guidelines for its visual designand harmonization with thesurroundings.

The new standards for road lighting reflect a desire to soften the visualimpression by reducing the height of the light source and support lighted areas with plantings.

New fixtures should provide goodcontrast and color reproduction; fixtureswith high-pressure sodium lamps shouldbe replaced by ones with better colorreproduction.

Uniform fixtures and masts should beused in continuous road progressions andattention paid to important attractions bylocating fixtures only opposite them. Thestandards discourage suspending fixturesacross open spaces. Road lighting in theopen countryside should be limited bydimming it at night and choosing a lowlighting classification.

The only binding regulation calls forlighting for traffic circles and inter-sections regulated by traffic lights. Nonetheless, since there is a tradition for following guidelines in this area, they can have a major influence on efforts to create more beautiful roads.

The Danish Road Directorate’s handbookon lighting (1999) gives a thoroughreview of lighting technology and thearchitectural aspects of lighting.


54

Plantings

Roadside plantings play a dominant rolein the road’s architectural expression.They can also have a major impact ontheir landscapes, emphasizing or con-cealing structures and elements in theirsurroundings.

Road plantings comprise all forms ofvegetation set out along roads: avenues,roadside trees, forests, groves, hedge-rows, hedges, bushes, grass, and flowers.The use of plantings in the road environ-ment should be based on the overallarchitectural design and the landscape or cityscape of which the road is a part.In both urban and rural planning,plantings should also be seen in thecontext of other aspects of road planning,for example safety.

Growing conditions and ecologyApart from their aesthetic perspectives,plantings are very important for flora/fauna, the environment, climate, anduser orientation. New plantings generatenew flora and fauna along the road andconsequently new habitats that can helpunify the landscape’s ecosystem. Sinceplantings are the road’s living element, itis important to give them good growingconditions.

Growing conditions for trees along theroads and streets in a modern milieu areoften so poor that the trees stop growingbefore they reach their intended size andappearance.

Designing with plantingsThere are three overall concepts thatdictate how plantings can be used alongroads.

The first is to harmonize them withexisting vegetation. New projects affectforests, hedgerows, wetlands, shrubs,and individual trees. The road can beintegrated into the landscape with theaid of new plantings and by rounding out existing elements.Secondly, plantings can lend intrinsic value to the road, the way old roadplantings do. Although they wereoriginally planted to protect against wind and weather, and not for aestheticreasons, they provide a natural source of inspiration for today’s planners anddesigners.Finally, plantings can be used to create an entirely new landscape where a distinctive look was previously lacking.



Many large roads have been laid out inentirely new landscapes whose plantingstoday provide fine visual experiences. Onlysome of the landscaping for the Klovtofte interchange shown on this drawing was carried out but the result is aesthetically very successful.

Scale 1:10,000

56

Types of plantingsAvenues:The avenue is a precise architecturalelement that encloses a road or path, itstrees planted symmetrically across fromone another and so densely that theyform a closed space. Avenues are usuallyfound at Baroque manors and palaces.

Roadside trees:Roadside trees are planted eitherindividually or in rows. They might be staggered on either side of the road or line only one side. These trees canaccentuate and provide information(optic guidance) on the course of a roadin a landscape.

Groups of trees:A small planting of trees in groups canhave a sculptural effect or facilitateorientation in the landscape. Likeindividual trees, groups can emphasizeor indicate special points along the road.

Groves:The grove is a small planting of treeswhose crowns form a continuousprogression. The grove is typically usedfor shelter around farms, gardens, andwaterholes, but also in more urbansettings in parks or to provide a roof over a parking lot, etc. The grove is acharacteristic planting form that can beused in road projects with sufficientlylarge adjacent areas.

Forests:The forest is a composite, naturalplanting consisting of trees, bushes, and herbs. The forest appears as adistinctive volume in the landscape.

Hedgerows:The hedgerow is a dense, linear plantingof trees and bushes. It denotes fieldboundaries and provides shelter in sandysoils. The hedgerow is a distinctiveelement in the cultural landscape.

Bushes:Bushes can be planted together to createdifferent impressions, from a gardenatmosphere to a natural look. They can be used not only in hedges andhedgerows, but also individually, inboscages, as ground cover, and asaccessible shrubs.

Hedges:The hedge is a linear, trimmed or untrimmed planting of one species. The hedge can form spaces and delimitelements.

Grass:Grass is typically found in flowering meadows or fields. Grass as a motif adapts itself to its landscape.

Flowers:Flower plantings can consist of a singlespecies or a combination of different spe-cies to give the impression of everythingfrom a garden to a natural environment.Flowers and flowering herbs can be usedeffectively as a colorful decoration alongthe road.


Good growing conditions ensure a verdantroad milieu.

Beech hedges and plane trees provide adistinctive identity here.

57

Trees in the cityConditions for tree growth in the city aredifferent from conditions in the opencountryside. If trees are to be used in thecity, care must be taken to create optimalgrowing conditions. The soil in cities is often so compressed that tree rootscannot develop. Trees are moreoversubject to pressure from paving andbuildings, high temperatures, darkshadows, and pollution from soil and air,for example from the use of salt on roadsduring the winter.

Road standardsThe proposal for standards for plantings in the open countryside (2002) is intendedto support work with designing theseplantings along rural roads. The standardsare intended to help road directorates create attractive progressions in the land-scape, viewing flora/fauna, traffic safety,road architecture, and plant care as awhole. The standards set down preciserequirements for spacing and provide guidelines for choosing plants, plantingtypes, etc.


After compressed soil is excavated, structural soil (a mix of rocks and soil) is added, ensuring pavementstability and tree growth.

Trees are effectively protectedagainst salt during the winter.

Sturdy designs in solid materials give thebest guarantee that quality can be upheldfor many years. Good materials stand upto wear and weather. The goal should besimple designs with a few paving typesthat clearly reflect the function of the different traffic spaces.

The road’s green elements develop overthe course of many years and must bemaintained regularly in order to becomehealthy plantings. Solid materials, incontrast, wear down and deteriorate in time and must be regularly repaired.Materials and care must moreover be suited to the road’s current use andsafety requirements. This provides an opportunity to evaluate the road’sarchitectural expression from an overallviewpoint. New signs, etc. might havehad unfortunate aesthetic results andperhaps even impaired safety.

Local road-maintenance manualsdescribe goals for both daily road main-tenance and longer-term improvementsand measures. In order to achieve thedesired look and quality level, it is important to keep these goals constantlyin mind. Various maintenance tools/systems have been developed that aim to keep the road functional at all times.The systems describe both routinemeasures and ones that regularly requirea qualitative on-the-spot assessment. In most systems, both practical andaesthetic aspects must be evaluated collectively at regular intervals. Most maintenance tools are continually beingimproved.

Corresponding systems have beendeveloped for roadside-plantingmanuals. These systems work both withthe aesthetic dimension – requirementsregarding the visual impression – andwith the practical side – descriptions ofthe concrete measures that must be takenin order to achieve or maintain thedesired look.

Maintenance


Urban roads and their environs Dense urban traffic is hard on the road’smaterials, while the load on an ordinaryresidential street is limited. This is why itis often wisest to use sturdy materials,ones that can stand up to hard physicalloads and torsion, both summer and winter. Road materials must moreovermeet safety and accessibility require-ments for different user groups.

Many things must be taken into accountin maintaining plantings along urbanroads: growing conditions, special careduring the initial stage, pruning, etc. It isalso important to protect both the trunksand the roots of existing plants whenroads are built or repaired.

In many cases, suburban roads are bordered by fairly large green areas. This is why it is important to define roadarea and recreational area and determinethe level of care needed for each. Many roadside areas have narrowmedian sections where bushes are usedextensively. They are generally expensiveto maintain and may be of dubious valuefor the road’s architecture.

Rural roads and their environsThe rural road is fairly simple to main-tain. Drainage must be good, worn areasmust be repaired, and markings shouldbe plainly visible.

Since rather little maintenance is doneon green areas along municipal roadsand major state roads, it is important forthe choice of planting and its character to suit the environment’s climate andextensive form of plant care.


Worn surfaces pose a traffic hazard.

Roadside maintenance variesgreatly from one municipalityand county to the next.

Roadside trees in the countryside also needmaintenance.

The Checklist System


Project type: Urban-zone road

Project type: Urban-zone intersection

Project type: Rural-zone road

Project type: Rural-zone intersection

Project type: Dedicated bicycle path

Project type: Service facilities and rest stops

The checklist system can be found on theDanish Road Directorate’s homepage:

www.vd.dk

The checklists are available in the mostcommon file formats and can be down-loaded and used without restriction.

Systematization The checklists are suitable for commoncounty or municipal road-planningprocesses.

The checklist system is based upon theaverage sequence in a typical constructionproject and represents a number ofdecision-making steps, posingincreasingly more detailed questionsabout the decision-making process andproject content.

The following steps were chosen for thechecklist system:

Step 0 Programming

Step 1 Sketch plan and preliminary project

Step 2 Main project

Step 3 Startup

Step 4 Maintenance and supervision

There are many ways of carrying out aproject, depending on place, tradition,political conditions, etc. In every case, anumber of general considerations formthe basis for working out the details ofthe project to ensure its completion andfuture maintenance. The division intostages must be adapted to the individualsequence.

Decision making at all stagesThe checklists contain a number ofquestions that are considered relevant for the detailing level at each particularstage. If decisions are made in the courseof the project that have an impact on previous decisions, planners mustconsider whether is it still possible tomaintain the overall concept. This is whythis question is posed as an introductionto steps 1 to 4.

Step 0ProgrammingStep 0 is the programming stage whenthe project is defined and roles aredivided between the client and planners.

The project – a new road or roadimprovements – is most often based onthe following conditions:

Change in capacityTraffic load, different traffic patterns

ServiceBetter service to the public on the road,in its vicinity, and in the district

Noise controlMoving traffic, limiting speeds, erectingnoise barriers

Improving traffic safetyReducing speeds, accommodating otherusers, especially vulnerable users,pointing out "black spots"

Urban development and/or renewalIncluding overall aestheticconsiderations

Step 1Sketch plan and preliminary projectThe road project’s overall geometry isestablished in the sketch plan andpreliminary project. A high degree ofclient/user participation must beexpected at this stage.

The potential to assess the project’s architectural value depends largely on visual presentation. Documentation inthe form of digital visualizations,sketches, photographs, cross-sections,elevations, etc. and good writtenformulation are essential at this stage.

Step 2Main projectThe main project deals with the con-struction/civil-engineering aspects thatwill ensure that intentions are carriedout. The design of paving, buildingstructures, and equipment is described in detail.

For planted areas, it is important to en-sure the best possible growing conditionsto allow the vegetation to develop into adistinctive and verdant element.

Step 3StartupWhen the project is completed, formal responsibility is handed over from thecontractor to the user/client. In order toensure the best possible basis for main-tenance, the user/client is provided with"as-built plans" and a completion report,which describe the project and any changes that might have been madeduring construction.

If the project requires maintenance thatdiffers from the normal routines, its goalsand intentions must be described indetail to those in charge of maintenance.Routine maintenance should be reviewedin conjunction with the handover.

Tendered projects often comprise not only a one-year inspection and five-yearguarantee, but also extra care of plant-ings during the first years, in theirestablishment period. This ensures theplants a good start, and responsibility fortheir care during this critical period isunequivocally placed with the contractor.

Step 4Maintenance and supervisionThe road is in use and maintenancestarted. Materials deteriorate over timeand must be repaired or replaced, whilethe road’s green elements develop into a unity over a period of many years.Adjustments must moreover be expectedif the current use changes in the future.

A maintenance manual is intended foreveryday use. It ensures that main-tenance, repairs, and new measuresharmonize with the architectural intentions for the project as set down in the description of goals.

In addition to routine maintenance, the project is inspected and followed up at regular intervals, when futuremaintenance routines and any measuresthat might be taken to improve the project may also be decided.

It is important at this stage to adhere tothe project’s architectural goals, to keepthe aesthetic quality from deteriorating.

The checklists can be used for theseinspections.


Project typesThe checklists review project types thatare representative of the tasks involved in a planning and maintenance sequence.The project types describe worksituations in rural and urban settings.Although not all questions might berelevant in a given situation, they werechosen to cover a project situation as wellas possible.

The following types of projects are dealtwith:

Urban-zone roadConstructing or renovating a section ofroad in an urban zone

Urban-zone intersectionConstructing or renovating anintersection in an urban zone

Rural-zone roadConstructing or renovating a section ofroad in a rural zone

Rural-zone intersectionConstructing or renovating anintersection in a rural zone

Dedicated bicycle pathConstructing a dedicated bicycle path,especially in a rural zone

Service facilities and rest stopsParking or rest stops adjacent to the road. The project could also be acoordinating or an intermodal project involving several forms of transportation(park and ride).


The alignment of Danish freewaysharmonizes with the Danishlandscape.

63

The checklists as aplanning tool

The client The client can use the checklists as a toolat the programming stage to clarify andspecify political requirements regardingarchitectural quality. Later, he can usethem to review contracts together withthe consultant.

Questions about goals, architecture, and economy must be answered at a veryearly stage of the planning process. It is in the interest of all parties for the clientto be fully informed and aware of hisrequirements and wishes.

The checklists are a useful tool in theoverall process, giving the client anopportunity to follow it and ensure thatthe project progresses as desired.

Project managementAs the client’s closest advisor, it is the pro-ject management’s task to ensure that theright decisions are made, notified toothers, and carried out at the right time.The different steps in the checklist systemhelp provide an overview.

Planners A number of different professional groupsare generally involved in road-planningprojects. Engineers, architects, and landscape architects often make up theplanning group that must realize visions.The handbook and checklists can be usedby these planners to assess all aspects of a project.

The checklists give those involved in theproject the opportunity to voice clearopposition when architectural aspectsmight conflict with other factors, such as safety, legislation, technical require-ments, etc. It also makes it possible at an early stage to form some idea of theamount of surplus or toxic soil, relatedprojects, etc. and incorporate themaesthetically and economically into theproject.

Maintenance authoritiesThe goal of maintenance is to preserveand develop the road’s qualities. Thegreen part of the project will display its finest features only after several years of growth, in contrast to the project’sstructures and equipment, which inprinciple have their peak quality uponcompletion.

Maintenance is an absolute prerequisitefor the proper development of trees andother plants. During the programmingstage, however, the client must decidewhether he is able to carry out thenecessary maintenance. In principle, amaintenance agreement should be drawnup in advance that requires road manage-ment and maintenance personnel to carryout the prescribed work.

The checklists moreover presuppose thatmaintenance manuals be drawn up for allthe different parts of the project.


Danish Road Directorate

Niels Juels Gade 13

P.O.B. 1569

1020 Copenhagen K

Denmark

Tel.: +45 33 93 33 38

Fax: +45 33 15 63 35

e-mail: [email protected]

Homepage: www.vd.dk

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