Fællesbyg Køge Kyst: Housing Community Version 2.0

Modern Pioneer Project at Søndre Havn in the well-preserved Old Market Town an hour’s drive west of Copenhagen

It seems that the time has finally become ripe for the community-oriented housing ideas that the architecture firm Vandkunsten has been realizing for more than 50 years. Interest in this type of housing has increased significantly since 2010; In Køge, to such an extent that the residents took on a large and active role when the extensive construction of 45 homes and numerous communal facilities was to be realized.

The Value Chain Became One Link Shorter

For the first time in history, residents in an association themselves made the agreement with the contractor who was to build an entire block of owner-occupied homes. Normally, there is a developer in the construction value chain whose business depends on the sale of homes. This link could be omitted here, resulting in a greater sense of ownership, more construction, and more facilities for the money. For the residents, this also meant that they had much greater concrete influence on the individual homes and the many common areas.

Individual Privacy and Community

Colors, materials, and variations in the facades reflect a high degree of diversity, which is also found inside the homes. Here, there are apartments for all groups of ages and life stages. The smallest home is 65 m² and the largest 170 m². All contribute to the community with 10% of the gross area of the home. Every resident has equal access to the common house, four shared rooftop terraces, greenhouse, workshops, two guest rooms, and green common areas outside the door.

Cheaper Than It Would Have Been

The project has been developed in a partnership between the architecture firm Vandkunsten, the Society for Affordable Housing, and the urban development company Køge Kyst. Many would probably argue that it is a stretch to use the word “affordable” about these homes. The prices for an apartment ranged between 2,678,500 DKK and 4,930,000 DKK immediately after completion in 2021.

But Køge is an attractive alternative to Copenhagen with its historic town center and vibrant cultural life, and especially the harbor area is currently undergoing rapid development. Without the residents’ involvement and Vandkunsten’s use of industrialized building modules, the prices would probably have been quite different. For comparison, apartments in Copenhagen’s Nordhavn have been sold at prices around 30,000 DKK. Rethinking and experimenting with other ways of considering the construction value chains is also architecture.