UN17 Village in the media

Lars-Bo Hansen flyttede i sommer fra sin lejlighed på Frederiksberg ind i det nybyggede bofællesskab, Lunden, som er en del af UN17 Village i Ørestaden. Nøgleordet er en bæredygtig fremtid – både boligmæssigt og socialt – og beboerne bekæmper både madspild og ensomhed.

Designed to meet all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, UN17 Village in Copenhagen is aiming to set the standard for sustainable living. Journalist Adam Branson asks whether it is measuring up to its promise.

The thinking around the design, delivery and occupation of the UN17 Village has been done with the UN's SDGs in mind.

When it comes to real estate – indeed, pretty much any area of life – it is worth being sceptical about any initiative that claims to be ‘unique’, ‘unprecedented’ or ‘breaking new ground’. The UN17 Village development in Ørestad, Copenhagen, might just be the exception that proves the rule.

The feature from Nippon TV concludes that the UN17 Village demonstrates how important it is to create cities that are kind to both people and the earth and that the development may be a hint for Japan's future. (starts at 03:50)

Mia Scheel: "People are aware of the scarcity of resources. At the same time, they have high expectations. They want access to the metro, good infrastructure, wonderful architecture, and a community. This is exactly the demand that we're trying to meet with the UN17 Village." (starts at 02:40)

Only a few kilometers from the center of Copenhagen, the UN17 Village has developed a co-living community that combines modern architecture with the best features of small, local village communities. Rentals have begun. The feature is in Danish and starts at 02:52.

What will a day in the UN17 Village look like? You wake up to the most beautiful view. Coffee on one of the roof terraces with a view of the sunrise. Go the gym. Dinner with the neighbors in a communal kitchen and shared activities in the evening, e.g. movies in the local cinema.

In Copenhagen, investor and developer NREP is piecing together a new neighborhood [UN17 Village] that aims to set a benchmark for environmental performance.

UN17 Village has a particular focus on 'health and well-being' (SDG no. 3). For example, paths between buildings are designed so that residents can walk further rather than take the shortest route. In addition, there is space in the communal gardens to grow vegetables and meet the neighbors.

From health and well-being to addressing poverty, the UN17 development is redefining sustainability in architecture. “We wanted to put forward something that was comprehensive, challenging, and hadn’t been done before.” says Martin Schultz Nielsen.

“It’s our watershed building,” says Claus Mathisen. “When we started it five years ago, many of the solutions that we now have weren’t around... It’s an attempt to generate insight and learning for what we could migrate to our wider portfolio.”

The UN17 Village method strikes a balance between several interests, and the work includes new ways of working with suppliers, testing and implementing new types of building materials and technologies and various ways of upcycling pre-used materials.

"We want to create a project, which takes a holistic approach, not just looking at sustainability, but also looked at how we can improve communities and the health of the people who live there," says Martin Schultz Nielsen. (reporting from 23:30-28:30)

"The first wooden houses will be more expensive. But we need to get the ball rolling. The construction industry is conservative, and we want to push it," Nicole van der Star says, expecting that the next wooden high-rises will be more climate-friendly and less expensive.

According to an expert, we should use more wood when we build new buildings. This is what the UN17 Village does. One building will be 24 meters high, using a total of 6,000 tons of wood for most of the load-bearing structure and the façade instead of primarily concrete.

For the UN17 Village, NREP has invested more than DKK 100m as well as over two years of work in preparing a catalog with more than 200 sustainability initiatives, such as solar cells on the roof and upcycled wood for floors, which the property investor will use in future buildings.