26688
“FIRST LIFE, then spaces, then buildings. The other way around never works” Jan Gehl
ÅBENrå 36
1km
500m
RA ME
GARDEN
TH EF
Facade towards the courtyard
Facade towards Åbenrå
Facade towards Reformert Kirken
THE CANVAS
THE FRAME
TH
EC
LIFE IS WHAT WE WILL PROTECT IN 100 YEARS
1km
(Parks, Squares, ...)
AN
LIVING ROOM
VA S
(Bar, Pubs, Leisure, ...)
ÅÅbenrå 36 is based on the belief that the buildings we save today are the ones that offer people the possibility of a variety of uses and the ability to express their identity over time while being in dialogue with their context. Therefore, the spaces and buildings that we protect today are not the ones that tried to impose new ways of living, but the ones that remained flexible to what the future brought. “First life, then spaces, then buildings” is the mantra upon which the project is based: life is used as the façade material and as a consequence, architecture becomes just a platform to frame whatever people’s daily life comes up with.
500m
KITCHEN
(Restaurants, Cafè, ...)
Åbenrå 36 aims to provide a framework for life’s diversity by means of two different formal concepts: THE CANVAS is flexibility by creating a canvas for as many possible public/commercial uses as possible. The Canvas is designed as an empty semitransparent stage for diverse public and shared life. The space is flexible to room diverse functions, like cafes, workshops, bars, shops, exhibition spaces or whatever the community will need 100 years from now. THE FRAME is flexibility by giving residents room to express their individuality. The façade towards the courtyard is made of frames where people have the full possibility to personalize the space right in front of their windows. The façade towards the church has a shared terrace that works as a shared “living room” extension of the studio apartments. Here people can put tables, chairs and sofas, park their bikes and furnish the space with their plants and decorations. Åbenrå 36 wants to state that the architectural qualities that we consider worthy of protection are primarily based on how people can use the building rather than on purely aesthetic and formal solutions. We believe that an architecture that will be protected 100 years from now is the one that is not designed as a finished product, but that is built with social sustainability in mind, and therefore gives users the spatial possibility to be the architects of their own space, being it private or public.
N
URBAN ROOM
MASTERPLAN
Use of shared public spaces as extension of the apartments
1:500
3 Shared living
5
(Only for residents)
3
2 Shared living
(Only for residents)
1 Flexible public space
5 A
(Workshop, laundry, bar, ...)
2
5
4
S Flexible public space
(Workshop, laundry, bar, ...)
SECTION A
5
SECTION B
1:200
1:200
“A person in a rented apartment must be able to lean out of his window and scrape off the masonry within arm’s reach. And he must be allowed to take a long brush and paint everything outside within arm’s reach. So that it will be visible from afar to everyone in the street that someone lives there who is different from the imprisoned, enslaved, standardised man who lives next door.” Friedensreich Hundertwasser
1 B N
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
PUBLIC FUNCTIONS
1:200
1
Flexible public space
(Workshops, bar, laundry, ...)
2 Public courtyard 3 Arkitektforening courtyard PRIVATE FUNCTIONS 5
4 Shared terrace 5 Studio apartments living 6 Shared (Common kitchen, livingroom)
5 4
5 5
6
SECOND FLOOR PLAN 1:200
FACADE TOWARDS ÅBENRÅ 1:200
VIEW OF THE SHARED TERRACES - A.D. 2122
“There is a PLAGUE OF SAMENESS that is killing the human joy” Zita Cobb
VIEW FROM ÅBENRÅ - A.D. 2122