Blågårds Plads

A popular square in the centre of a multicultural neighbourhood, Nørrebro, Blågårds Plads hosts street markets, concerts and demonstrations. It is considered something of an alternative location, a bit out of the context of the city, partly because of the large communities of Arab and African people in the area.

There are also many stores that sell secondhand or recycled products.

It is a very busy area, but the trees lend the square tranquillity, projecting fantastic shadows on the pavement.

It was the start of spring and lots of people were outside enjoying the weather – I tried to capture the spirit of the crowded square and the beautiful light.

Frederiksholms Kanal

Frederiksholms Kanal is the largest artificial canal built in the centre of Copenhagen in the 17th century. Along the canal are landmark buildings of Copenhagen – Christiansborg palace, parliament, the National Museum – as well as old warehouse buildings, beautiful bridges and hundreds of boats.

In this particular scene, what struck me most were the vivid colours of the boats against the surroundings on a winter’s day.

During Denmark’s long, dark winter, life in the boats stops and they are left alone until the springtime weather arrives.

Gammel Strand

This 360-degree view means a lot to me. I worked in the area for three years and this drawing was done in several days. Every day I did a small part and it was a challenge because I needed to connect all the parts together.

There are several important buildings in the drawing, such as Nikolaj Kunsthal, parliament, the National Museum, Museum Thorvaldsen and Christiansborg palace.

It was a privilege to work in the Gammel Strand area. It is a very old part of the city with remarkably beautiful buildings. The name means the old beach, and is where the fish market used to be.

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (New Carlsberg) is a Danish art museum founded by Carl Jacobsen and opened to the public in 1906. It is one of the most important museums of Copenhagen, with a big collection of classic works and contemporary art. I have wandered around the exhibits many times, but this time I thought I should honour the beautiful orange building.

It is always crowded, but has a wonderful patio inside with palm trees.

In the summer there are lots of tourists in the city, who always head straight to the museums and places indicated on tourist maps and travel websites. The areas between Tivoli (Europe’s oldest entertainment park), Glytoptek and Central Station are always full of tourists. I like to observe the new visitors to the city; I find their reactions and movements amusing.

On the day I sketched this, it was quite hot and I just wanted to stay for ever on the street to enjoy this rare (for Copenhagen) weather.

It is easy to imagine stories when drawing, and I often imagine the lives of the people who built the buildings, the challenges, the empty spaces that are being completed.

HC Andersens Boulevard

HC Andersens Boulevard is one of the main streets of Copenhagen, with a mix of old and new buildings. I really enjoy sketching old buildings with lots of decoration. It makes me focused – it’s like putting a puzzle together.

This building is imposing and I always wonder about what is going on inside. I do not know if people live there, or whether it is offices or something else entirely. This mystery keeps my imagination active.

Havneholmen

This harbour is in an area where the new city is expanding. Lots of new, vulgar and misguided, construction is springing up. This drawing was a kind of tribute to a big effort made by residents to keep the harbour small and less developed and to the memory of a place that is in the process of disappearing.

I always like to find places to draw where there is some controversy or discussion about the place. In this case, little remains of the spirit of the original harbour; it has become artificial with horrible new edifices around it.

It is sad that part of the history of the city is disappearing. I think the boats that remain are magical. Some of them have become like exclusive and expensive hotels, but there is still a small remnant of port life – only very little, but something survives. I really appreciate this effort.

Hovedbanegård, Copenhagen Central Station

Like all the central stations in Europe’s big capital cities, it’s a peculiar place, with lots of people coming and going.

The roof is made of a beautiful wood structure supported by stone columns.

It was an extremely cold day, and even though I was drawing indoors I had to wear lots of layers of clothing, which affected my sketching skills and agility.

A city’s central station is a place where momentous things happen. It is a place of meetings and disagreements; of new beginnings and departures.

Rundetaarn

I made this sketch on the rooftop of Rundetaarn, one of the highest spots of the city. Copenhagen is a flat city and most of the buildings don’t have more than five or six floors; I like how towers make it possible to pick out the different squares and locations.

The light was beautiful on that summer’s day.

I decided to go to the top of the tower a bit by chance. The tower building itself is rather ugly and uninteresting, but I thought the view could be interesting. And it was – that magnificent view over Copenhagen and that intense light. From the top of the tower you can see all the significant landmarks. Steeples and high roofs that are normally attached to important city buildings, such as churches, City Hall and other civil buildings, are located in squares. So using that as a starting point, it is possible to read the layout of the whole city. The towers link the axes of the city, marking the key points of entry to the old city.

Palæ Bar

Palæ is an emblematic bar of Copenhagen. There was a great jazz concert in the day I did the sketch and at the end the musicians wanted to sign my original drawing. What a honour.

The space was crowded but I was lucky and got a place right in front of the musicians. From up close you can feel their expressive intensity, see the head movements, long moments with closed eyes. It was a great opportunity to draw the scene.

The logo of the cafe is brilliant: a reference to the little mermaid, one of the symbols of the city.

Sydhavn

Sydhavn is a beautiful harbour outside the city centre. Is it still a fishing harbour and also has a lot of old boat houses. It is my favourite spot to sketch in Copenhagen; I feel at home and welcomed by the people who live there.

Sydhavn is an oasis in the city, an old fishing port lost in the greatly expanding new city of Copenhagen.

Sydhanvn

More than being just an old fishing port, Sydhavn has the soul of alternative dimension: people who live there seem completely apart from the accelerated rhythm of the rest of the city. The atmosphere in Sydhavm has a different rhythm; I cannot identify a trace of stress.

Going to Sydhavn to draw works like therapy for me when I have had one of those days of intense and stressful work.

There is a huge pressure of real estate investors to destroy the port and build those blocks of horrible apartments that look the same wherever you are in the world.

But for now, drawing the boats of Sydhanvn is a great pleasure: I love to unravel their secrets and memories. The boats speak for themselves; they have souls and they survive.



Tivoli

Tivoli is the oldest amusement park in Europe and the Danish are extremely proud of it. Drawing symbols of the city is always a challenge and a huge responsibility. I tried to get the overall view of the building and then used a fish-eye perspective, which gives an expressive dynamic grammar to a drawing.

Vaenedamsvej

Vaenedamsvej is one of the busiest shopping streets in Vesterbro: huge cafes and shops that sell almost everything line up one after the other. Residents of Copenhagen go to this street to buy things they need but also to relax. There is a dynamism in the shops and cafes, nothing is boring. There are bicycles everywhere and the cafes put tables outside once the weather improves.

Also, for me, the bikes in the foreground are an icon of the city.

Viktoriagade

I like the diversity of the building on the city corner; it makes the city feel alive, and it is easy to see lots of things happening at once because of the dynamic of the location.

I often like to look for nooks and crannies to draw, and in Vesterbro you can find a lot of them.

This place where Viktoriagade crosses Vesterbrogade is particularly interesting for its architectural diversity. Here, several buildings of different epochs and proportions are connected.

João Paulo Albergaria is a Portuguese architect who has lived in Copenhagen since 2012. He is an active member of Urban Sketchers Copenhagen and takes part in sketch crawls, urban sketching workshops and symposiums as participant and instructor. HIs work can be found on Instagram and Facebook

If you’re an illustrator or graphic artist with an idea for The Illustrated City series, email us at cities@theguardian.com

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