Home for All: 66 New Homes to Low-income Citizens

BIG-BJARKE INGELS GROUPHigh DensityProjectTerritory and mobilityUrban Paradigms

Active Public Spaces, Affordable Housing, Apartment, Architecture, Collective housing, Copenhagen, Courtyard, Denmark, Design strategies, Façade, Façade orientation, Functional unit, Greenery, Housing, Industrial context, Materials, Prefabrication, Project, Social housing, Sun relationship, Sustainable, Timber, Wooden panels

BIG fulfills the “Homes for All” mission for the non-profit affordable housing association Lejerbo with the 6,800 m2 winding wall in Copenhagen’s multicultural northwest area. The building offers 66 new homes to low-income citizens featuring unprecedented 3.5 m ceilings, generous floor-to-ceiling windows and outdoor terraces, realized on a strict budget. Named after its address, Dortheavej in the northwest part of Copenhagen, the five-story building winds through the area characterized by car repair shops, storage and industrial buildings from the 1930s-50s. BIG was commissioned to design Dortheavej in 2013 by the Danish non-profit affordable housing association Lejerbo, whose mission was drafted by the Danish urban space designer Jan Gehl. BIG was asked to create much-needed public space in the area, while keeping the pedestrian passageways open and the adjacent green space untouched.