Gadehavegaard i Høje Taastrup, Danmark

Gadehavegaard (GHG) came on the Danish government's ghetto list in 2018 and because of that a development plan for the whole area has been made suggesting that 260 homes should be demolished. At the same time a 3,5-hectare big area that today hosts a parking lot and road will be transformed into a biodiverse park and new private homes are being built, specially designed for the elderly. Moreover, a new Community Center and a new Campus are suggested to be built at the location of the demolished buildings.

With NEB Design Challenge Domea.dk wants to challenge the former decisions of demolishing 260 homes and investigate whether it is possible to transform residential block no. 10 - and perhaps also residential block 13 as the foundation of a new combined campus and community center. The project wants to create awareness of the area's sustainable ambitions and ambitions to create a modern building that combines social and educational functions. 

The main aim of the plans is to change the area from a socially vulnerable residential area to an attractive and sustainable residential and knowledge district.

Owner

Domea.dk, is one of Denmark's leading public administration and consultancy companies. Domea.dk manages just over 80,000 homes distributed throughout the country and strives to make Denmark a better and more inclusive place to live.

Address

Murskeen 29, 2630 Taastrup, Denmark
Link to Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/MYggmiz4yStzv9Ui7

Site description

GHG is a social housing development with approx. 1,000 homes and 2,300 residents, all built in the 1970s. It consists of 19 similar buildings in four floors, placed at right angles to one another, thereby creating smaller groupings of blocks with associated outdoor areas. The development includes a communal house, a pavilion, a recycling yard, and laundries. The 19 buildings vary in length and form three different groupings which all extend from and connect to the associated parking areas. 

All buildings are relatively deep and have rows of open balconies to the south or west and an entrance on the opposite side. The buildings are constructed in spacious concrete modules. On the entrance sides, the concrete is painted white between the windows, so that the windows appear united in a band. Entrances are recessed, painted in different colors, and marked with overhangs in different designs. The gables are closed or have a smaller window on each floor. The outdoor areas are intersected partly by a fortified rectilinear path system, and partly by a more organic path system, which cuts through the area diagonally. There is only traffic in connection to the car parks in the north. In the development, there are bicycle sheds, playgrounds, ball fields, living areas, and a hilly, green area to the southeast. The ground-floor apartments have private gardens or terraces.

Block 10 is very centrally located in the area as a whole and connects to the neighborhood park, making it significant in the transformation of the area. It is of importance to the municipality that the future campus and community center is centrally located and connects the existing and the new, inviting both residents of the public and the private housing along with employees, guests, students, teachers, etc. to use the building.

The future building will contain a total of approx. 6,000 sq m. and can be established by transforming existing buildings but also by partially - and to a lesser extent - extending with new space.

• Block 10 is approx. 3,200 sq m.
• Block 13 is approx. 1,900 sq m. 
• Both blocks are 4 floors.

Requirements for design ideas

The building must accommodate the Community Center and Campus and have the following functions:

• 500 – 1,000 sq m. shared cafe and reading room/library with a kitchen for meal preparation – the cafe must be visible from the green space in the neighborhood park and be easily accessible from the neighborhood park so that it is perceived to be equally aimed at the people living in Gadehavegaard as well as private residents, guests, employees, and students on campus.
• 500 sq m. resident functions. These must contain 3 meeting rooms as well as a larger everyday kitchen that can be used to prepare your food for private parties held in the resident's house. The kitchen must also be able to be used for teaching purposes in cookery courses.
• Teaching facilities 3 – 3,500 sq m. - each teaching room must be able to accommodate 28 students and be at least 75 square meters.
  There is a need for a variety of teaching rooms and the possibility, from time to time, to be able to gather in larger units of up to 100 people for lectures, etc. Changing facilities for outdoor and indoor leisure life. These changing rooms cannot be shared with workplace changing rooms.
• 1,500 sq m. Entrance, halls for lectures and movement and parties – a higher ceiling is required here, at least 4 meters.
• 500 sq m. workplaces for teachers and administration. There must be changing facilities for both women and men in connection with the workplace.

The cultural and social value of the site and historic use

Gadehavegaard is an example of the welfare visions, thoughts, and ideals that lay behind the large public prefabricated housing developments, which were the result of the industrialization of construction in the 1960s.

Architecturally, the way of building is also typical of the period and reflects the goal of alleviating the housing shortage and providing good housing through industrialization of the construction. This can be seen in the right-angled placement of apartment buildings, and the use of concrete modules as the primary building component. 

Also, the rows of open balconies as well as the placement of windows in long bands is typical of the period. Gadehavegaard is also an example of how these prefabricated and industrialized buildings sometimes were lacking in building quality and therefore have been through several renovations from the 1980's and onwards. In Gadehavegaard former renovations can be seen for example in the new roofs and entrance overhangs, which have new forms, along with one building being completely transformed with new facades for energy efficiency purposes.

Drawings and images

Use this link to access drawings and images of Gadehavegaard.

Submit your entry

Submit your design proposal for Kvarteret Hammaren by emailing oskar.riby@ri.se your material no later than the 18th of March. The design proposal must fit within and be legible on one (1) A3 sheet. Please write your chosen site in the subject of the email. 

Requested information:

1. The competition proposal (1 A3) including:

   1. Concept description with accompanying analysis.
   2. Conceptual sketches and diagrams.

   The file should be named with the proposal's motto.

2. Names of all team members. Write all names in the email and note that all submitted material must be purged of any traceable information about the author or similar details to guarantee complete anonymity. 
3. Study certification of at least one team member conducting studies in architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, or interior design at a Nordic university or college.