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This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

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There are many urban spaces in the world that are so uniquely planned it leaves people speechless. With the help of satellites and aerial photography, we have the ability to see just how carefully buildings are laid out in the areas. One of such captivating sights is Brøndby Haveby or Brøndby Garden City. Located just outside Copenhagen, Denmark, this ‘garden city’ is a place of many community gardens that are known for their unique circular arrangement.

More info: Instagram

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A post shared by Henry Do (@henry_do) on Jun 10, 2019 at 9:01am PDT

The houses in Brøndby Haveby have large yards that provide a retreat from the noisy and densely populated city and also giving the opportunity to indulge in the hobby of growing plants and crops.

This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

Image credits: henry_do

This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

Image credits: henry_do

The idea of ‘garden city’ was approved in 1964 when the municipality of Brøndby agreed to dedicated space for allotments, thus the mesmerizing circles started to pop up in the area.

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A post shared by Henry Do (@henry_do) on Aug 21, 2019 at 9:02am PDT

This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

Image credits: Google Earth

The architected of Brøndby Haveby chose this type of arrangement not by accident.

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This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

Image credits: Google Earth

The idea behind these circles is simple: to increase social interaction among those who rent the gardens.

This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

Image credits: Google Earth

The gardens were made known by photographers such as Henry Do who stumbled upon this captivating area.

This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

Image credits: Google Earth

Here’s how people reacted

This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

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This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

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This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens

155Kviews

Andželika

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What do you think ?

KatHat 5 years ago

It seems a lot of people don't understand how this system works. The people all have houses or apartments in the city. These usually don't have any outdoor space (maybe a small balcony, often not even that). Where it's less built up, on the outskirts of the city, there are whole areas of allotments, like these. People go for the day or part of the day and go home later. They don't live in the structures shown; those are for shelter, for meals during gardening, and to keep some things in. The parking is in the centre of the circles and you don't need a garage since your car won't stay overnight (and any "stuff" you need to store will be kept in your garden house or other shed).

25points

FloC 5 years ago

It looks much bigger than just sheds to me. Plus it doesn't look like the type of community garden where a lot of vegetables are grown, more like leisure garden... basic gardens that go with a house.

14points

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chi-wei shen 5 years ago

It is called "Kolonihaveområde" which could be translated as "small garden" or "family garden". The pieces of land are not bigger than 400m² the houses must not be bigger than 50m², and it is not permitted to live in theses houses the entire year. The owners can live there only from April to October. Similar concepts exist in other countries like "Kleingarten" in German speaking countries, which literally means "small garden". It's something like allotment gardens in the UK, but the land is mainly used for recreational purposes and not so much for gardening.

2points

saynogo 1 year ago

No. Look at the close ups. Half the plot or more it taken up by houses that are more than ample for people to live in. These are not sheds, or simple shelters. They aren't mansions, but they are full sized houses by any standard, and luxury to some.

0points

Monika Soffronow 5 years ago

From the horse's mouth: https://www.quora.com/Urban-and-Regional-Planning-How-do-the-residents-of-Br%C3%B8ndby-Denmark-find-living-in-allotments-arranged-in-a-circle

0points

chi-wei shen 5 years ago

The advantages will become clearly visible during a Zombie Apocalypse. It’s simple to defend the outer ring and neighbours could provide cover for you. Additionally, you have the advantage of the inner line with protected communication. If you need to break out you have a number of cars parked in the well protected centre area. Even in the worst case scenario where your ring gets overrun by zombies the other rings don’t get affected by such a loss. The architect made a very safe design.

17points

Patrick McKemie 5 years ago

Good point! No one ever prepares for the Zombie Apocalypse.

7points

Load More Replies...

Sabine Keil 5 years ago

Why is everybody so obsessed about the lack of garages??

16points

Nevi Løvfelt 5 years ago

Because most of the answers are from people in US (I think?)

6points

Load More Replies...

Charlie Harper 2 years ago

Once you've had a garage, you can't live without one.

0points

Viv Hart 5 years ago

I was thinking about winter, Denmark has snow! Quite a few of the houses are more than just summer day-houses, so your car needs shelter. I'm from S. Africa btw.

0points

Marnie 5 years ago

Have you ever had to clear two feet worth of snow off of your car? Once you do, then you have to clear all that cleared snow off of your driveway, so you have to move it twice. And then, scraping ice off of a car in the morning when it's -15F is never fun. (I don't know if it gets quite that cold in Denmark, but it does snow there, I think.)

0points

Doodlebug 5 years ago

This article made a bit more sense of things for me. https://www.citylab.com/life/2016/07/colony-gardens-denmark-housing/490904/

2points

Katinka Min 5 years ago

This looks cool from above, but If these are allotments, then the houses are way too big and it is disappointing that almost nobody seems to actually grow fruit and veg in there. I am also a bit disappointed at how little nature is allowed to thrive there, especially between the circles.

2points

Meeow 5 years ago

You can also check their website: https://stateofgreen.com/en/partners/orbicon-provides-environmental-impact-assessments/solutions/recycleable-housing/

2points

Monika Soffronow 5 years ago

The one has nothing at all to do with the other, except for being Danish. Here we are talking circular concept as in reusing material. Thank you for posting the site, it is interesting: "Known as Circular Economy, the solution to these challenges goes far beyond merely using resources more efficiently. Instead, we shall reuse, recycle, repair and share. In essence, it means an end to waste and the chance to create a new type of inclusive, sustainable economic growth."

0points

Load More Replies...

Miklós Nagy 5 years ago

It's a bit hard to sleep at night from the visiting UFOs but othervise a really nice place to live.

2points

Jon Hanzen 4 years ago

Beautiful! Love it...how innovative and community minded. Surely a positive influence for other social experiments.

1point

Graham Fielding 4 years ago

Someone commented that the circles aren't a very efficient use of space, but they're actually much better than a square lot; a circle can be surrounded more completely and with less wasted space than a square or rectangle.

1point

AJ K 5 years ago

I was there, it looks great from above :) https://youtu.be/1SqoZ2It30c

1point

Marnie 5 years ago

Title is apparently wrong: "This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens" Lives gives the wrong impression that these are single-family homes that a single family lives in year-round, which is not at all the case. Downvoted because this was just not a well-done article at all.

1point

William Jennifer 1 year ago

Hello everyone, I’m going to share my story of how I got myself out of a financial crisis. I met someone on Instagram who told me how I could make huge profits from investing in cryptocurrency, I fell for his scam and started investing to the point where I invested my entire savings and took a loan after he thoroughly brainwashed me into investing more to gain financial freedom. To cut the story short, I had invested $874,000 in bitcoins into this scam, I was depressed to the point of taking my life when I came across an article about a hacker Richard Pryce wizard, who was able to recover money lost through a cryptocurrency scam for several other people, I hurriedly contacted them, I don’t know how it was possible but Richard Pryce wizard was able to recover all my money in the space of 48 hours. I’m still in shock from this experience but I’m truly thankful to Richard Pryce wizard and I would love to put this out there to everyone that if you think all hope is lost then you should co

0points

Arzu Özyurt Özkan 4 years ago

It was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s village project for new Turkish Republic in 1930s. But Denmark achieved it. Very nice

0points

Debbie 5 years ago

quite horrid, beautiful but too close to next house on both sides and long narrow garden difficult to use

0points

Monika Soffronow 5 years ago

From the horse's mouth: https://www.quora.com/Urban-and-Regional-Planning-How-do-the-residents-of-Br%C3%B8ndby-Denmark-find-living-in-allotments-arranged-in-a-circle

0points

Donna Leske 5 years ago

Grass is not nature-friendly, no flowers for the bees, uses lots of water, needs frequent feeding and herbicides for weeds, and there is gasoline for the mowers. Such a waste. All of the green grassy areas could be converted to food gardens, then it would be productive and ecologically better.

0points

Monika Soffronow 5 years ago

In Scandinavia, since it often rains lawns do not need frequent watering and land used for communal park use is never watered. No fertilizer is used, the grass clippings are doing their job very well, staying where they are. No herbicides for weeds are used, any weeds coming up will be mowed with the grass. Lawns like this can be quite colourfull, with all the flowers. However, I would have liked to see more trees.

4points

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Hallak65 5 years ago

it is a petri dish

0points

Michelle Croutch 5 years ago

Reminds me of Stepford Wives.

-1point

Gary 5 years ago

Nice idea, I can see greedy property developers coming in and doing deals behind closed doors to build in the spaces between the circles once the novelty has worn off.

-1point

Monika Soffronow 5 years ago

Not in Denmark.

3points

Load More Replies...

N G 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

darubyprincess 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Lushpapaya 5 years ago

Why is it unethical?

6points

Load More Replies...

KatHat 5 years ago

It seems a lot of people don't understand how this system works. The people all have houses or apartments in the city. These usually don't have any outdoor space (maybe a small balcony, often not even that). Where it's less built up, on the outskirts of the city, there are whole areas of allotments, like these. People go for the day or part of the day and go home later. They don't live in the structures shown; those are for shelter, for meals during gardening, and to keep some things in. The parking is in the centre of the circles and you don't need a garage since your car won't stay overnight (and any "stuff" you need to store will be kept in your garden house or other shed).

25points

FloC 5 years ago

It looks much bigger than just sheds to me. Plus it doesn't look like the type of community garden where a lot of vegetables are grown, more like leisure garden... basic gardens that go with a house.

14points

Load More Replies...

chi-wei shen 5 years ago

It is called "Kolonihaveområde" which could be translated as "small garden" or "family garden". The pieces of land are not bigger than 400m² the houses must not be bigger than 50m², and it is not permitted to live in theses houses the entire year. The owners can live there only from April to October. Similar concepts exist in other countries like "Kleingarten" in German speaking countries, which literally means "small garden". It's something like allotment gardens in the UK, but the land is mainly used for recreational purposes and not so much for gardening.

2points

saynogo 1 year ago

No. Look at the close ups. Half the plot or more it taken up by houses that are more than ample for people to live in. These are not sheds, or simple shelters. They aren't mansions, but they are full sized houses by any standard, and luxury to some.

0points

Monika Soffronow 5 years ago

From the horse's mouth: https://www.quora.com/Urban-and-Regional-Planning-How-do-the-residents-of-Br%C3%B8ndby-Denmark-find-living-in-allotments-arranged-in-a-circle

0points

chi-wei shen 5 years ago

The advantages will become clearly visible during a Zombie Apocalypse. It’s simple to defend the outer ring and neighbours could provide cover for you. Additionally, you have the advantage of the inner line with protected communication. If you need to break out you have a number of cars parked in the well protected centre area. Even in the worst case scenario where your ring gets overrun by zombies the other rings don’t get affected by such a loss. The architect made a very safe design.

17points

Patrick McKemie 5 years ago

Good point! No one ever prepares for the Zombie Apocalypse.

7points

Load More Replies...

Sabine Keil 5 years ago

Why is everybody so obsessed about the lack of garages??

16points

Nevi Løvfelt 5 years ago

Because most of the answers are from people in US (I think?)

6points

Load More Replies...

Charlie Harper 2 years ago

Once you've had a garage, you can't live without one.

0points

Viv Hart 5 years ago

I was thinking about winter, Denmark has snow! Quite a few of the houses are more than just summer day-houses, so your car needs shelter. I'm from S. Africa btw.

0points

Marnie 5 years ago

Have you ever had to clear two feet worth of snow off of your car? Once you do, then you have to clear all that cleared snow off of your driveway, so you have to move it twice. And then, scraping ice off of a car in the morning when it's -15F is never fun. (I don't know if it gets quite that cold in Denmark, but it does snow there, I think.)

0points

Doodlebug 5 years ago

This article made a bit more sense of things for me. https://www.citylab.com/life/2016/07/colony-gardens-denmark-housing/490904/

2points

Katinka Min 5 years ago

This looks cool from above, but If these are allotments, then the houses are way too big and it is disappointing that almost nobody seems to actually grow fruit and veg in there. I am also a bit disappointed at how little nature is allowed to thrive there, especially between the circles.

2points

Meeow 5 years ago

You can also check their website: https://stateofgreen.com/en/partners/orbicon-provides-environmental-impact-assessments/solutions/recycleable-housing/

2points

Monika Soffronow 5 years ago

The one has nothing at all to do with the other, except for being Danish. Here we are talking circular concept as in reusing material. Thank you for posting the site, it is interesting: "Known as Circular Economy, the solution to these challenges goes far beyond merely using resources more efficiently. Instead, we shall reuse, recycle, repair and share. In essence, it means an end to waste and the chance to create a new type of inclusive, sustainable economic growth."

0points

Load More Replies...

Miklós Nagy 5 years ago

It's a bit hard to sleep at night from the visiting UFOs but othervise a really nice place to live.

2points

Jon Hanzen 4 years ago

Beautiful! Love it...how innovative and community minded. Surely a positive influence for other social experiments.

1point

Graham Fielding 4 years ago

Someone commented that the circles aren't a very efficient use of space, but they're actually much better than a square lot; a circle can be surrounded more completely and with less wasted space than a square or rectangle.

1point

AJ K 5 years ago

I was there, it looks great from above :) https://youtu.be/1SqoZ2It30c

1point

Marnie 5 years ago

Title is apparently wrong: "This Community In Denmark Lives In Surreal Circle Gardens" Lives gives the wrong impression that these are single-family homes that a single family lives in year-round, which is not at all the case. Downvoted because this was just not a well-done article at all.

1point

William Jennifer 1 year ago

Hello everyone, I’m going to share my story of how I got myself out of a financial crisis. I met someone on Instagram who told me how I could make huge profits from investing in cryptocurrency, I fell for his scam and started investing to the point where I invested my entire savings and took a loan after he thoroughly brainwashed me into investing more to gain financial freedom. To cut the story short, I had invested $874,000 in bitcoins into this scam, I was depressed to the point of taking my life when I came across an article about a hacker Richard Pryce wizard, who was able to recover money lost through a cryptocurrency scam for several other people, I hurriedly contacted them, I don’t know how it was possible but Richard Pryce wizard was able to recover all my money in the space of 48 hours. I’m still in shock from this experience but I’m truly thankful to Richard Pryce wizard and I would love to put this out there to everyone that if you think all hope is lost then you should co

0points

Arzu Özyurt Özkan 4 years ago

It was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s village project for new Turkish Republic in 1930s. But Denmark achieved it. Very nice

0points

Debbie 5 years ago

quite horrid, beautiful but too close to next house on both sides and long narrow garden difficult to use

0points

Monika Soffronow 5 years ago

From the horse's mouth: https://www.quora.com/Urban-and-Regional-Planning-How-do-the-residents-of-Br%C3%B8ndby-Denmark-find-living-in-allotments-arranged-in-a-circle

0points

Donna Leske 5 years ago

Grass is not nature-friendly, no flowers for the bees, uses lots of water, needs frequent feeding and herbicides for weeds, and there is gasoline for the mowers. Such a waste. All of the green grassy areas could be converted to food gardens, then it would be productive and ecologically better.

0points

Monika Soffronow 5 years ago

In Scandinavia, since it often rains lawns do not need frequent watering and land used for communal park use is never watered. No fertilizer is used, the grass clippings are doing their job very well, staying where they are. No herbicides for weeds are used, any weeds coming up will be mowed with the grass. Lawns like this can be quite colourfull, with all the flowers. However, I would have liked to see more trees.

4points

Load More Replies...

Hallak65 5 years ago

it is a petri dish

0points

Michelle Croutch 5 years ago

Reminds me of Stepford Wives.

-1point

Gary 5 years ago

Nice idea, I can see greedy property developers coming in and doing deals behind closed doors to build in the spaces between the circles once the novelty has worn off.

-1point

Monika Soffronow 5 years ago

Not in Denmark.

3points

Load More Replies...

N G 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

darubyprincess 5 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Lushpapaya 5 years ago

Why is it unethical?

6points

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