Aarhus, Denmark have started building the Generation House Project containing 304 rental homes.
‘Generasjonernes Hus’ is based on life and community, and designed by KPF Arkitekter. 40 of the units are designated youth homes, 100 for elderly and 24 are reserved for adults with different disabilities. The building delivers on Aarhus Municipality’s vision of bringing together several generations under the same roof, and will be the first of its kind in Denmark.
In addition, the building will contain 40 family homes and a number of common areas, including a nursery for 150 children. So here children, young people, adults and elderly people will live and co-exist.
“In Denmark, we have had success with smaller units, usually on abandoned farms or in large villas, where several generations and people in different life stages live under the same roof. This is the first time something similar is being built in such a format,” says Birgitte Andreassen, Project Manager for the Generation House to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
The Generation House has been designed and laid out to provide residents with the opportunity to meet, to take part in communal activities and to share each other’s resources, like function rooms at the top of the building, a harbor setting with sailing boats and kayaks, workshops, children’s playgrounds, home offices, a library, a mini zoo and multi-functional space.
The waterfront building, whose color will be influenced by the expanse of water, will be an important element in creating a well-functioning city life in a former industrial area. The interaction of three shades of color on the façade will diminish the scale of the building and convey its social functions and multi-faceted residential composition.
In total, a settlement of around 10,000 people will take up residence in this area. Therefore, it has been important for Aarhus Municipality to avoid what the project manager calls parallel environments.
Internally, three courtyards will create visual connection across the building. That means that all the major communities around the courtyard will be consolidated, inspired by the idea of encouraging encounters between the residents.
Andreassen says the aim is to overcome prejudice. The housing project will be completed by 2020.
All illustrations by KPF Architects.
House for Several Generations to be Built in Aarhus, Denmark, written by Tor Kjolberg