Living Places Copenhagen, a residential architecture experiment, is also an exhibit that demonstrates how sustainable buildings with a three times lower carbon footprint than presently acceptable and a first-class indoor climate can be developed. This is the first model under the overall concept called Living Places, developed by the VELUX Group, EFFEKT and Artelia, and built by Enemærke & Petersen. The exhibit has seven prototypes comprising five open pavilions and two completed full-scale homes which are now open to the public. The vision of the overall concept is to lead the way within the building industry and show how rethinking buildings can help solve some of the global climate and health challenges.

The building industry accounts for 34 per cent of global energy consumption and 37 per cent of global CO2 emissions. In the latest report from the UN's climate panel, it is clear that low-carbon solutions must be scaled and implemented—specifically in the industry related to the built environment. Living Places Copenhagen is one of those solutions, with a demonstrated CO2 footprint of 3.8 kg/CO2/m2/year—three times lower than the current Danish legislation of 12 kg CO2/m2/year—and to a price that matches the market price for a one-family house or row houses at scale.

All partners involved in the project carried out a complete Life Cycle Assessment. This means that each material, design and building technique has been carefully considered and mapped in terms of the emissions they project compared to a typical Danish household.

Timber framing structures, also called “post and beam” structures, use traditional building technologies. It consists of vertical and horizontal linear elements that require incorporating stability planes. Timber frame structures prove to be the most efficient use of materials when constructing buildings with less than four floors. Compared to Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) structures of similar geometry and size, timber frame structures require approximately three times less timber. Additionally, timber frame houses with identical interior sizes have the advantage of a smaller exterior site footprint. This is due to the ability to integrate insulation between the structural elements of the walls.

CLT houses are constructed using mass timber elements. CLT decks offer the advantage of larger spans without requiring intermediate supports, even with similar dimensions. Additionally, CLT elements can be left exposed, in the interior, without the necessity of adding another interior finish layer. However, it is important to note that CLT elements must be covered with a thermal insulation layer, resulting in increased overall thickness of roofs and walls compared to timber frame elements.

Based on this, the partnership has built prototypes, showing that the wait for futuristic technology to build homes that benefit both people and the planet is unnecessary. Five key principles drive the newly developed homes—homes should be healthy, affordable, simple, shared over time and scalable. These principles can be applied to new or existing buildings and communities.

EFFEKT is an architectural collaborative based in Copenhagen, Denmark operating in the fields of architecture, urbanism and research. The company was established in 2007 and currently employs 50 full-time staff under the creative direction of two Danish architects Tue Foged and Sinus Lynge.

In an exclusive interview with STIR, EFFEKT co-founder Sinus Lynge details the expectations and outcomes of the project:-

STIR: What is the project's role in the series of events planned under the scheme resulting from Copenhagen being declared as the World Capital of Architecture for 2023?

As an official partner to the UIA World Congress of Architects in Copenhagen, Living Places Copenhagen can be experienced in Jernbanebyen and showcases a total of seven prototypes—five open pavilions and two completed homes at full scale. Living Places Copenhagen will be functional, and host a programme of debates and activities designed to drive and accelerate change in the building industry.

STIR: What was the overarching vision behind this project, and how do you see it being implemented in the daily life of a citizen?

Sinus: Architecture is, in many ways, how we shape our relations to the surrounding environment. From the relation between inside and outside to the choice of materials and the way we work with daylight, fresh air and nature. Also on a bigger scale, we consider how buildings contribute to our CO2 emissions and resource flows. What we have tried to achieve in this project is to create synergies between our built environment and the natural environment we live in. Living Places Copenhagen demonstrates how we can develop low-carbon, healthy and socially oriented communities with houses that have been constructed for disassembly and achieve an independently certified annual footprint of 3.8 cubic kg of CO2 per square metre, which is less than one-third of the Danish average. Each prototype is curated to show the synergy between how we live in homes and communities emphasising the notion that sharing is a timeless tradition that creates better living environments for both people and the planet.

STIR: What were some of the major challenges you faced in the project's development and execution?

Sinus: Our main challenges showed up in the transition from concept to realisation. How do you get contractors, subcontractors and materials suppliers to register where all materials come from? How does that reflect on cost? It became clear that it would involve a different design process with different questions being asked.

STIR: What does the future of Living Places look like to you?

Sinus: We already have the solution to massively reduce the climate footprint of new homes, without compromising on quality or liveability or breaking budgets. It does not demand rocket science or new technologies, in fact, the solutions are already here. We just need to rethink the way we work, design and develop our built environment—from investors to developers, consultants, contractors and material producers—we need to set common goals and work with CO2 as a new budget, which has been invisible for the industry until now. If we work together, we can change things much faster, which is necessary, because we have about 10 years to shift to regenerative industry practices and to get within planetary boundaries. In other words, there is no future for construction with a ‘business as usual’ mindset.

As the UNESCO World Capital of Architecture for 2023, Copenhagen is host to a series of major events and programmes on the theme 'Sustainable Futures – Leave No One Behind.' Living Places Copenhagen was unveiled on April 22, 2023, recognised globally as Earth Day and will remain in Jernbanebyen until 2024, after which the plan is for them to be moved to a location where they can be used for housing and communal houses together with several other homes built according to the same concept. Living Places has also been chosen as one of the solutions Denmark will offer to help rebuild Ukraine.