Tag Archives: road

Piet Hein: Kuben – Spheres within cubes

Roundabout art. It seems that where people build a roundabout in Denmark there is an urge to put something in the middle.

One of the better examples of roundabout art is the cube with spheres outside Augustenborg. The sculpture is made by Piet Hein, a scientist, architect and poet who created many interesting things.

On the way to work we pass by it every day and I got curious about it.

The sculpture, called Kuben, was inaugurated in 2008, exactly 20 years after Peit Hein had finished his drawings for it. The artist himself never saw it finished as he passed away in 1996. It weighs 5 tons and stands 7 meters tall. The sculpture is funded by Bitten og Mads Clausens Foundation.

The company contracted to create the sculpture, Royal-Tee, has some interesting photos from the construction and positioning of it. Here is one of showing how the different sections are produced:

Kuben being constructed by the company Royal Tee.

King of the Road

In London the King of the Road is probably the pedestrian who crosses the road at random, particularly in the centre. In Malta it is the motor vehicles who hurtle down the roads like nobody’s business. In Denmark? My vote goes to the bicycle!

Tweed Run 011

Denmark being such a flat country makes cycling the transport method of choice is small towns like Sonderborg. You can probably think of cycling as something of a national sport. It knows no boundaries.  You see old ladies, style conscious teenagers, foreigners and Danes alike and also parents with a couple of kids in their carrier.  Everyone owns at least one (two or three?) bike.

However cycling doesn’t become big in a vacuum, as other countries have lately started to discover. A cycling culture arises because the facilities are right for cycling. This is true for Denmark. Bicycle stands are available all around you. Bike paths, often separate from the main road, also cover much of the road network. The paths are also decent, and more importantly, they are cleared when it snows! All in all, cyclists have a good life here.

Of course, if there is a king, there must be a pauper. Well, car being cars, they probably come a close second to the bikes. This leaves pedestrians at the very bottom of the pecking order. Why do I say this? Well, let me just say this one point. You need to look out when crossing the road on a green light – because cars crossing your path probably have a green light too! Not a very comforting feeling now is it?