7_ Sundparken | C.F. Møller Architects

NAME

Project title: Sundparken

Recommending party
The project has been submitted by: C.F. Møller Architects

LOCATION
Country: Denmark

City: Aalborg

Address: Tambosundvej and Sallingsundvej, 9220 Aalborg.

AUTHOR

Designer or design team architects:

C.F. Møller Architects

DETAILS  

Plot Area: 80000 mq

Gross Area: 30700 mq

Of which residential: 100%
Public/communal areas: 0 %
Facilities for the public: 0%
Business/trade: 0 %
Offices: 0 %

Number of residential units: 366
Typology of users: Families, Old-aged people,  Students,  Foreigners/immigrants,  Temporary residents,
Total building costs Euros: 59.300.000,00 €
Building Cost = Total Bulding Cost / Gross Area: 1931,00 €
Floor area ratio = Gross Area / Plot Area: 0,38
Work started on date: Thursday, 1st November 2012
Work completion date: Thursday, 31st March 2016

OWNERSHIP 

Promoter: Himmerland Housing Association (with support from Landsbyggefonden and the Municipality of Aalborg)
Allotment rule: Flats are appointed to members of Himmerland Boligforening, by seniority as a member. Everyone can become a member. It is fairly cheap to be a member around 27€ a year.
Reduction cost percentage compared to the market value:
– assignement % This is a very difficult issue, as funds comes from a variety of sources. All is owned by these two departments, so there is no offices, businesses and alike. The public facilities are owned by the departments and partly run by the Municipality and the departments 10% comes from the Municipality as extra security, 30% from Landsbyggefonden (a national fund to which all departments of social housing (as a legal entity) pays a part of the incoming rent (app. 2€/sqm pa)), 5% as the departments own savings and the rest as normal loans, which in Denmark is quite different (and cheaper) than anywhere else.
– rent 80%

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

Cost of construction max: Cheap standard solutions are chosen where they are not visible, while building components such as the facade has been given extra attention.
The construction costs are the same as comparable housing schemes. The subsidies lies in cheaper loans and reduced rents relating to personal income.
Rental/sale cost compared to market price: The project has been achieved with the support of (amongst others) Landsbyggefonden (the National Building Fund), a self-governing institution that assists public housing associations with new loan and grant opportunities. As a consequence, the rent increase for each resident has been either minor or at least less than the market would predict, despite the project’s significant financial scope .

SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

Rules of allocation: It is a housing association for paying members. As a member, you can subscribe to the waiting list in one of the association’s many departments. The waiting time for one of the newly renovated homes in Sundparken is approx. 1 year.
Protection of fragile categories: All the new residential typologies in Sundparken are designed to be accessible for people with disabilities. In addition, there are designated small housing units that appeals to socially vulnerable in both design and price. There department has affiliated housing social workers who help the disadvantaged residents with everything from contact with the municipality for job search.
Involvement of inhabitants in the building process: Groups of tennants has worked with and approved the architects work.
Community accompaniment in the life of the building: Before the inhabitants decided (the departments are sole legal entities) to set the project in motion, different groups were formed to line out the grounds on which the project should be carried out. These groups were, in the later phases, joined into two groups, supporting the architects during the design phase. Now the boards of the departments are responsible for the technical and economical wellbeeing of the departments.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Functional mixitè: Aktivitetshuset is a residents’ community centre and a key link between dep.19 and 22 of Sundparken. One of the existing blocks was demolished to make space for the community centre, which is a meeting place for residents and function as the focal point for life in Sundparken.
Common spaces and shared living: The community centre has a café, workshops open to residents, and offices for the janitors and a community social worker. The areas between the blocks are transformed from a no-man’s land to recreational areas and car parks, over which residents can take ownership.
Techniques and strategies for environmental saving: The overall sustainability strategy is based a holistic approach, in which the environmental, financial and social aspects are all incorporated into the project concepts. The complex fulfils the Danish Building Regulations’ requirements of energy consumption in renovated buildings.

Description of the project: 

C.F. Møller has drawn up the master plan for the restructuring and renovation of Sundparken.  The transformation of these monotonous, prefabricated buildings has left the area a welcoming and sustainable complex of buildings.

Department 19 and 22 of the Himmerland Housing Association were typical buildings dating from the 1970s. On arrival at the complex, the outdoor areas appear deserted. The desolate and anonymous central car parks and monotonous vegetation in the shape of open lawns and uniform shrubs and bushes adds to the feeling of Sundparken being a deprived area.

In the legacy of the well-known Danish architect Jan Gehl an intermediate space was lacking to provide “Life Between Buildings”.

After the refurbishment the departments are now a vibrant, socially sustainably district, in which landscape elements make it easy to find your way and open front gardens create individual identity for this location.  The open front gardens encourage residents to take ownership of the spaces between the houses and add a sense of security in the public spaces. The project emphasises social sustainability, accessibility, openness, diversity and identity.

The redefined brick gables, black-painted timber cladding with glass sections from floor to ceiling, characteristic “roof boxes” and new light stairways in steel and glass sets contemporary new standards for the renovation of public housing in northern Jutland.

All of the flats have been fully renovated, accessibility has been improved and, via conversions and extensions, there is now a better choice of flats.  Car parks are decentralised. It is easier to park close to your own home, which creates more life between the houses. Quiet local streets with speed restrictions ensure that conditions are safe for pedestrians, children and adults alike, and allow street life to unfold on their terms. Recreational areas and playgrounds are located close to residential units, and there are semi-private and open front gardens and private back gardens.

A park and a district activity and community centre unify the two departments of Sundparken. The local park has rainwater drainage beds. In addition to it recreational value, the green spaces divert rainwater from both departments.

Previously, residents on transfer incomes and without paid employment were over-represented. One consequence was a significantly higher energy consumption than in Denmark generally. The renovation project has resulted in many young couples and families moving to the complex. Local people who have sold their homes have even chosen departments 19 and 22, rather than buying new homes.