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Project description

Name of the case study
Evaluation of the Hedebygade Block

Description of context
Hedebygade is a large urban renewal project, including a greening of the buildings. Since 1990 this block has been part of an ongoing urban regeneration of Vesterbro, a central district in the city of Copenhagen. The green part of the project was financed by a national programme on more efficient urban renewal (Projekt Renovering).

Description of project - background
The Hedebygade Block was officially appointed as the Ministry of Housing’s "flagship project" on Urban Ecology. It represented the hitherto most ambitious attempt to demonstrate the potential of "Urban Ecology", and included 12 separate green projects on the buildings in the block:
1. Prism. Sunlight canalised into the building through the roof by use of a mirror (heliostat). Also inside and outside facade insulation and energy control have been effected in order to save energy.
2. Flora. Re-circulation of indoor air through plants and reed-beds in order to clean the air and to save energy. Moreover, cabinets chilled by means of cold air were installed.
3. (Given up).
4. ´Green´ Kitchen. Use of environmentally sound kitchen furniture, vertical hotbeds for growing and arrangement of kitchens in order to save water and energy.
5. Sun wall. Heat recovery by means of a heat exchanger, passive solar energy, insulation, low-emmission glazing and air type collectors on the roof.
6. Flexible facades. Covering facades and balconies with glazing elements combined with the use of solar cells (photovoltaics) and other kinds of plate elements.
7. Integrated ecological renewal. Addition of low energy facade element in order to extend existing kitchens, low-emission glazing, low-temperature central heating, ventilation with reclaiming of energy, individual metering of heat, electricity and water consumption, insulation, et cetera.
8. Sun in the urban renewal. Ventilated sun walls with integration of solar panels on transparent insulation, low emission glazing, low temperature central heating, integrated solar cells on the roof, ventilation with heat recovery, more sunlight in the apartments, individual metering of heat electricity and water consumption.
9. Waste sorting. Establishment of cabins for environmentally sound sorting of waste on the block for sorting in eight fractions at least, composition of information material and education of residents and caretakers of the whole block.
10. Shared courtyard and community house. Ecologically arranged courtyard for recreational purposes, with rainwater collection, cabins for waste sorting and environmentally friendly planting. The community house, located in the middle of the courtyard, is fitted out with a community room, kitchen facilities and a common laundry with rainwater etc.
11. House end project. Establishing different kinds of insulation in combination with solar cells and plant trellises.
12. Measurement of consumption. Individual measurement of the heat, electricity and water consumption in order to save energy and water. In this project the goal was to reduce the consumption with 25%, by making the residents about their own consumption through constant information and monitoring

Buildings in Hedebygade seen from inside the courtyard.
Buildings in Hedebygade seen from inside the courtyard.

The renovation of the building ended in 2001. It has afterwards been evaluated with respect to economy, innovation, user satisfaction, architecture and environment.

Description of project - objectives/aims
The project was defined as a demonstration project on urban ecology. The overall objectives of renovating the Hedebygade Block was:
• to establish a greater demonstration project in Copenhagen of ecological renewal
• to contribute to ecological solutions for renovation of old houses
• to demonstrate Danish capacity of ecological renovation
• to promote commercial utilisation of ecological solutions for urban renewal

Description of project - time interval and stages
The design was completed in 1996, and the renovation of the building ended in 2001. The evaluation was completed in 2004.

Description of project - financing
The Ministry of Housings granted a total of 40 million DKK (app. 5.3 million €) for the greening of the buildings. The funding came from the national campaign "Project Renovation", where a number of different renovation processes and technologies were tested and developed.

Description of project - other sectors involved
Being a building & land use project, several sectors are included

What tools were used to assess sustainability?

Green Accounting

More information

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