Ry Market Hall Ry

GOAL no. 8, 11, 12, 17

Commerce, culture and urban life in the town of Ry have resurged after local residents created a multi-purpose market hall and a local meeting place on the site of the former post office.

Shuttered shops are a growing problem in small towns. Commercial life and shops are an important aspect of the quality and attraction of a town, and when that aspect is missing or reduced, it affects people’s perception of the place.

When Ry Post Office closed in 2005, local residents launched an initiative to transform the centrally located site near the station. Today, the new market hall is the setting for regular weekly market days, local festivals, concerts, events and a café as well as a quiet place to seek shelter from the elements.

The hall has a modular construction with components in sawn Douglas fir bolted together. The open, sculptural and slightly asymmetrical timber construction is clearly visible through the glazed exterior walls, which are only partially covered with battens. The large glass doors at both ends of the building can be opened or shut as needed. After dark, the building is illuminated and emanates warmth to the urban space around it.

The roof of the unheated building is insulated with paper wool. The building components are easy to disassemble and reuse. At one end of the hall, there is a small tea salon with seating inside the open hall and under the large parasols on the square in front of the building. The owner of the salon is also the caretaker of the hall.

With its simple yet distinct architecture and flexible all-year use, the hall has helped turn the tide for local shops and businesses and regenerated urban life and commerce in Ry.

This project demonstrates how a simple meeting place and recreational space in a small town can help boost urban life and local social cohesion.

Project details

Where: Klostervej 1, 8680 Ry

Completed: 2020

Client: Skanderborg Municipality

Architects: DANØ ARKITEKTUR (architecture, landscape), GUSTIN LANDSKAB (the urban square)

Friluftshuset Silkeborg

GOAL no. 3, 4, 12, 13

The Nature and Outdoor Life programme at the folk high school, the Silkeborg Højskole, has a new building with a timber exterior and interior. The building is entirely built of natural materials with inspiration from ancient techniques. The result is a low environmental impact and a healthy indoor climate.

Poor indoor climate is a major problem in many educational buildings, old and new. According to research, this has a significant negative impact on students’ well-being and learning. Characterized by a single-use mindset, today’s construction industry consumes huge amounts of carbon-heavy materials and solutions that cannot be recycled.

Friluftshuset is located in the transitional zone between an open lawn and dense woodland and forms the setting of the Nature and Outdoor Life programme at the Silkeborg Højskole.

Wood is used for interior wall boards, exterior cladding, insulation and construction which ensures a minimal carbon footprint and a healthy indoor climate. The wood also creates an atmosphere and an expression that makes the building seem like an extension of the woodland space and supports indoor learning activities. The large panorama windows and round portholes provide varied views and a connection to the woods.

The building’s construction was inspired by the old Danish bole barn, a timber construction that has been in use since the Viking Age. The ventilation windows in the building are also based on a centuries-old concept that takes advantage of naturally preheated air.

The screw pile foundation contains no concrete and adapts the building to a high groundwater level and varying amounts of surface water. The screw pile foundation and the building’s bolted constructions and exteriors are designed for disassembly to facilitate maintenance or reuse. Its wood-fibre-based materials are also recyclable.

This project demonstrates how a building can be constructed using allnatural materials with a low carbon footprint, a healthy indoor climate and excellent technical and aesthetic qualities.

Project details

Where: Platanvej 12, 8600 Silkeborg

Completed: 2021

Client: Silkeborg Højskole

Architects: ReVærk

Western Jutland

Moraine landscape shaped by ice

During the last ice age, a glacier ground to a halt along a line that runs north-south down the middle of Jutland. At the town of Viborg, the ice turned west and continued deep into what is now the North Sea. West and south of the ice front, the landscape was shaped by moraine hills from the previous ice age. When the ice melted, gravel and sand poured into the valleys, filling them and flowing into the landscape to form wide plains. As a result, Western Jutland is a region of both light sandy soil and rich moraine soil.

Shipping and cattle trading

This vast area was settled by poor freeholders. Settlement was scattered, and there were no manors or landed estates. The few medieval towns in Western Jutland are situated along the waterways, i.e., near rivers and inlets: Lemvig, Holstebro, Ringkøbing and Varde. These towns are oriented towards the west and based their livelihood on shipping.

Along the west coast, cattle trading was for hundreds of years the main source of income. The area offered optimal grazing conditions, and local village churches in Husby, Staby, Stadil og Hee reflect the general wealth of the area.

Viborg stands out by being located east of the ice front. It has historically served as a gathering place, a seat of power and a spiritual centre of western Denmark. It has always been a wealthy town, and it is home to one of the two Viking Age thingsteads in Denmark.

Self-made wealth

The construction of the railway network from the 1860s led to the establishment of several new towns. Farmers were poor but free and rich in initiative and enterprise and a large textile industry emerged, especially around the new town of Herning. After WWII, some of the local smithies grew into factories, and during the 1970s, local initiative led to the establishment of several wind turbine factories and many associated subcontractors. Over time, there were a number of factory mergers, and today, Western Jutland is home to two large wind turbine companies, both global market leaders.

The textile industry underwent a similar development. Later, manufacturing moved to Eastern Europe or the Far East, while innovation and sales departments remained in the region. Several large fashion brands are still based in West Jutland.

A 45-degree roof pitch

The original architecture of Western Jutland was characterized by frugality. The traditional house in towns as well as in the country is a long building with a roof pitch of 45 degrees. The roofing materials were tiles or thatch although thatched roofs were later replaced with tiled roofs due to the fire hazard.

Viborg is an exception from the more toned-down architecture in the rest of the region. Here, the houses are either entirely brick-built or half-timbered with oak frames, which is rare in western Denmark. Many of the buildings are rich in detail.

From around 1050, churches in Western Jutland were built of hewn stones from the fields. They have steep saddle roofs and gables that are constructed and positioned to stand up to rough weather and the prevailing western wind.

Recent years have seen a number of architectural gems being built in Western Jutland, including ‘The White Town’ in Herning, Musikteatret (the Music Theatre) in Holstebro and the Court House in Viborg.

Denser and higher

For the past four decades, urban development in western Denmark has been dominated by single-family houses. Relatively low land prices (compared to eastern Denmark), low interest rates and a general increase in affluence have given young families the opportunity to realize their dream of owning a detached house. The average house size is 180 m2 with a plot of 800 m2. This results in considerable sprawl, albeit controlled by the national Planning Act and municipal planning.

In recent years, there has been a general policy to increase urban densification. More low-rise, high-density developments are being established, including many senior housing communities. This is reducing the demand for new single-family houses, as the fastest-growing group today is the 60+ age group looking to move to smaller dwellings with a close-knit community.

Town centres are being densified with the construction of taller buildings. The former cityscape of two-storey housing is changing to four or five storey buildings in most big towns and cities.

Managing wind, sun and rain

The world’s largest test centre for wind power is located near the town of Thisted close to the west coast. Here, wind turbine factories from Denmark and abroad can test their newest prototypes. The wind turbine structures are up to 280 metres tall, and a single wind turbine of this size can power about 20.000 households. Thus, most of the year, the region is self-sufficient with electricity and even produces enough to export to other parts of the country.

The many wind farms in the region enjoy widespread popular and political support. A public policy of supporting fossil-free energy is also fuelling the establishment of solar farms and solar cell innovation. Among these new developments, solar farms will be placed on scaffolding to be raised far enough above the terrain so that the land underneath can be cultivated.

Sewer systems are being renovated to enable the separation of wastewater and rainwater. Through infiltration, rainwater is led into naturally formed pools that are part of public recreational areas. Meanwhile, single-family houses are being retrofitted with rainwater infiltration systems which further reduces the pressure on rainwater management systems.

In summary, when it comes to industry, Western and Central Jutland are innovative participants in the transition to sustainability, while the regions’ architecture is more modest and traditional.