The chameleon-like and sculptural smoking zone are the result of the university’s new smoking policy, which stipulates that student and employees cannot smoke within a 10 meter perimeter from the university’s buildings. They are tailormade for Copenhagen University, mirroring the surroundings to blend seamlessly into different settings at the Copenhagen Science Campus.
The goal of the smoking zones is to reduce passive smoking at the Copenhagen Science Campus and at the same time accommodate the smokers' need for a common outdoor space to smoke - and in that way contribute to a mutual positive respect between smokers and non-smokers.
Therefore, the design of the smoking zones are carefully created to intrigue and encourage students, researchers and administrative personal to step away from the building while smoking. This initiative contributes to fulfilling the UN Global Goal 3, which aims to ensure healthy lives and wellbeing for all.
The modular concept of the zones creates an openended design, which can be combined in various compositions that softly connects to the surroundings as well as create an exterior hot spot for social gatherings. Sheltered from wind and rain, the zones can be just as attractive to those not smoking.
The smoking zone design and material selection reflect the outdoor placement requirements for minimum maintenance and constant load. The paved area of the construction is selfdraining and is considered a temporary installation, making the smoking zones easy to move.
