Ørestad Syd is a new development area in Copenhagen and thus an area with a unique opportunity to define the framework for future life in the city. Here there is no need to choose between urban life or life in close connection with nature. As part of a rapidly growing Copenhagen and neighboring the protected nature area of Kalvebod Fælled, it is possible to get the best of both worlds.

The future of Copenhagen should be a city that takes climate change seriously and makes the best use of all available resources. It should therefore be based on the notion that waste does not exist and that all materials, buildings, cities and people are considered resources that always maintain value. This way of thinking has great potential to generate economic, environmental and social value over time.

Resource efficiency and optimization form the underlying concept of the project. We have been working to challenge and investigate what a thorough understanding of the concept of resources can bring about in terms of value and quality for new constructions. This work has been based on five different focus areas: materials, energy, water, social and biodiversity.

A significant and innovative concept in the project is thus to reuse brick facades from abandoned homes directly in the new building. By cutting the facades of the abandoned homes and installing them in steel frames, they can be used as facade modules in the new building.

Building waste today represents a huge untapped resource, which will be exploited for the construction of The Resource Rows. We will ensure that the valuable building materials move to the cities when people move. By reusing the walls from the abandoned dwellings as new facade elements, you save CO2 and virgin materials, while also getting a new building with history and character from day one.

WHAT IF: We could create homes with history? We could build new dwellings out of waste such as residual wood, crushed concrete and bricks? We could build exclusive sustainable housing at no additional cost? We could minimize the total carbon footprint of the dwellings?

WHY: We reconsider and reuse the untapped resources in “construction waste” to build new homes! We build using sustainable, non toxic and certified materials! The utilization of existing resources has a positive direct impact on the environment!

BRICKS FROM THE HISTORICAL CARLSBERG BREWERIES

Since the 1960s it is no longer possible to recycle individual bricks, because the mortar is stronger than the actual brick. The bricks for The Resource Rows are thus cut out in modules, processed and stacked up to create the new walls in building. This innovative approach makes it possible to recycle bricks and give them many lives instead of just one – which results in a reduced CO2 emission in the construction phase.

Lendager ARC and Lendager UP have in collaboration with Carlsberg Byen cut out brick modules from Carlsberg’s historical breweries in Copenhagen. The rest of the bricks for The Resource Rows come from various old schools and industrial buildings around Denmark.

In The Resource Rows we also use upcycle wood from the construction of Copenhagen Metro. Our team processes the large amount of wood waste, so the wood appears as beautiful and sustainable materials in the project’s facades and interior.

Reusing rainwater for toilet flushing and irrigation is an important part of The Resource Rows’ identity. For non-potable uses, tap water is replaced with rainwater that is collected from solar cells and other unused roof surfaces. Rainwater from roof terraces is collected and stored for irrigation of the landscape. This intensive use of rainwater results in considerable economic savings on utility costs for the residents.

The quality of life in The Resource Rows has been developed based on the motto “The community thrives best if there is space for the individual”. It is founded on a strong community and neighborhood that does not interfere with the individual’s right to privacy and self-expression – and it is about the Sharing Economy. The Sharing Economy, which has flourished in recent years, proves that it is extremely practical to allow resources that are otherwise unused to be shared by people other than the owner. This provides an economic incentive to all parties involved.