15_Magisterparken | C.F. Møller Architects

NAME

Project title: Magisterparken

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

LOCATION
Country: Denmark

City: Aalborg

Address: Magisterparken 1-431, 9000 Aalborg

AUTHOR

Designer or design team architects: C.F. Møller Architects, C.F. Møller Landscape

DETAILS  

Plot Area: 5729 mq

Gross Area: 26052 mq

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

Number of residential units: 270
Typology of users: families
Total building costs Euros: 29.570.000 €
Building Cost = Total Bulding Cost / Gross Area: 1135 €
Floor area ratio = Gross Area / Plot Area: 4,6
Work started on date: Wednesday, 11th January 2012
Work completion date: Monday, 30th November 2015

OWNERSHIP 

Promoter: Himmerland Housing Association
Allotment rule: Affordable housing
Reduction cost percentage compared to the market value:
– assignment:  0 %
– rent: 0 %

ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

Cost of construction max: The overall economic framework of the building is below the usual construction cost for Denmark. This is largely due to the fact that it is affordable housing, with a low budget amount from the start. We have therefore worked consistently in choosing the complexities of the solutions according to the architectural quality. Cheap standard solutions are chosen where they are not visible, while building components such as the facade has been given extra attention.
Rental/sale cost compared to market price: The project has been achieved with the support of 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 minor, 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 Magisterparken is approx. 1-2 years.
Protection of fragile categories: All the new residential typologies in Magisterparken 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: The residents of Magisterparken have been deeply involved in the design process throughout this project, from the first design sketches, to the final structure. Our actual design proposal was adopted at a meeting of the residents of this complex, and their acceptance marked the formal start of the project. After this, a residents’ committee was set up and was kept continuously updated on the project, with the opportunity to influence layouts, interior design and the materials used in the individual homes. Residents also had a chance to give their homes an individual look by selecting different extra options.
Community accompaniment in the life of the building: –

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Functional mixitè: The residents have a common house with kitchen where they can meet in informal groups around different activities. In addition, there are guest rooms which the individual residents can book if they have overnight guests and only have one-bedroom accommodation themselves.
Common spaces and shared living: Previously, the green areas between the blocks were empty spaces with very little to offer residents. There was also little opportunity for informal meetings between residents. By giving around 30m² back to each resident on the ground floor, we have made it possible for residents themselves to take responsibility for, and make intensive use of, the communal areas, contributing to a greater sense of social community. Every resident of Magisterparken, and not just people with homes on the ground floor, as well as visitors from neighbouring areas, can enjoy these benefits.
Techniques and strategies for environmental saving: The complex fulfils the Danish Building Regulations’ requirements of energy consumption in renovated buildings. The exterior walls are thus insulated to 0.18 W/m²K. The new glass facades also help to create a buffer zone which in the winter months makes a positive contribution to the building’s energy consumption, and in the summer months helps to reduce overheating of the homes’ interiors.

Description of the project: 

Renovation and restructuring of a public housing estate, including energy renovation, new home typologies, improved accessibility and upgraded communal areas.
The residential complex dating from 1964 has faced technical structural problems for some time, requiring extensive renovation of the 13-storey residential high-rise block and the adjacent nine three-storey buildings. Besides concrete damage, damp penetration, lacking insulation and thermal bridges, the homes were generally outdated and less attractive.

The high multi-storey building’s concrete carcass is therefore being renovated, while also combining some flats into larger units, reducing the total number of homes from 169 to 120. Several flats are being combined vertically, resulting in strikingly modern new flats.

At the same time, the façades of both the multi-storey building and the smaller buildings are being renovated, giving them a more coherent architectural expression. The windows are enlarged, giving the flats significantly more daylight and better outlooks, and the façade design of the three-storey homes is varied with bay windows, framed windows and perforated metal sections that create exciting light and shadow effects.
The high multi-storey complex will have a more striking profile, as the two top floors’ balconies extend beyond one side of the building, creating special “penthouse flats”, and several homes adapted for the disabled will also be established. The outdoor areas are also being upgraded, with new vegetation, activities and recreational areas, and the buildings’ ground floors are being opened up, with access to terraces and small gardens.