Karolinelund Kindergarten Aalborg

GOAL no. 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15

A climate-friendly facility for preschool children looks like a small hill in a park.

Many nursery schools are established in old, adapted buildings, and the result is often a poor indoor climate, suboptimal spaces and high energy costs. Moreover, the green transition of our society requires that the youngest generations develop a close relationship with nature from an early age and a better understanding of the human impact on nature.

The new-build Karolinelund Kindergarten is located in the user-driven people’s park called Karolinelund, where it looks like a gentle, green hill. As the first DGNB Platinum-certified children’s facility in Denmark, the project’s sustainability credentials are in order – platinum is the highest level of this internationally acknowledged sustainability certification scheme.

Timber-built and with a green roof, the building blends naturally into its setting. Lush outdoor areas provide new habitats for wildlife and insects as well as varied play options for the children, including digging with a spade or sawing and whittling in the outdoor workshop.

Inside, nature, architecture, education, play and learning flow seamlessly together. The diverse spaces offer rich encouragement to play as well as room for quiet times and activities. The centrally situated common room offers selected peeks of structural features so the children can see and learn how the building was constructed. The design also focuses on good working conditions for the staff.

The kindergarten is designed according to the Passive House principles with low energy consumption and a good indoor climate. The children can take part in waste sorting, and their parents can drop off and pick up used things on a swap shelf set up by the staff.

This project demonstrates how architecture designed for children can both meet their needs for play and development and provide opportunities for a more direct engagement with the relationship between humanity and nature.

Project details

Where: Karolinelundsvej 50, 9000 Aalborg

Completed: 2017

Client: Aalborg Municipality

Architects and advisors: BJERG Arkitektur, BY+LAND (landscape), MOE (today: Artelia – engineer), RUM til BØRN (consultant), Lund & Staun (contractor)

Aalborg East Aalborg

GOAL no. 3, 8, 10, 11, 17

In a ten-year turnaround, a worn down and uninviting housing development plagued by social problems was transformed into a safe and diverse neighbourhood with new functions and improved public spaces.

Most cities have distressed residential areas characterized by monofunctional planning, closed areas and a lack of good urban spaces coupled with social and public health challenges. Many of these problems exacerbate each other, forming a negative cycle.

A series of development initiatives resulted in improved public health, job creation, a more diverse mix in housing and urban life in Aalborg East. Extensive cooperation among the housing association, municipality, region and local businesses led to a more diverse urban area, a densified city centre and a strengthened community.

One of the earliest strategic initiatives was the establishment of a primary healthcare centre to address the lack of access to healthcare in the area and improve public health. In a vote, the residents supported demolishing three housing blocks to make room for the centre. Since 2012, the new Health and Neighbourhood Centre has created 200 jobs and continues to bring many daily visitors into the area. It houses several clinics – general practice, psychology, dermatology and physiotherapy – a pharmacy, a café and a fitness centre.

Another key initiative is the transformation of a dark, narrow tunnel into a bright, spacious underpass with new urban spaces on either side. This ties together two previously divided residential areas. Other changes include preschool facilities, additional housing, cafés and restaurants. About 2,000 social housing units were renovated, and 500 new high-quality private and social housing units were built.

This project demonstrates how a negative cycle can be broken and living conditions can be improved for a large group of people in an urban area when multiple actors work together. The turnaround was not just based on demolishing buildings, but also on adding new functions and improving public spaces and housing standards.

Project details

Where: 9220 Aalborg Ø

Completed: 2011-2021

Client: Himmerland Boligforening (Himmerland Housing Association) and Aalborg Municipality

Architects: C.F. Møller, Link Arkitektur, KPF Arkitekter, Norconsult, Pluskontoret Arkitekter, EFFEKT, Rosseels Tegnestue ApS, Marianne Levinsen Landskab, Tegnestuen Vandkunsten