Description
During the post-war period, the Scandinavian region was the center of collective living development. During this time, the Dansk Almennyttigt Boligselskab DAB non-profit housing association created various Community Settlements based on the Swedish Collective Residences of the pre-war period and targeted at working mothers and single parents.[1] One of DAB’s most successful residential properties is Høje Søborg Collective Housing in Copenhagen, completed in 1952 by architects Poul Ernst Hoff and Bennet Windinge. With a 124 one- to four-room apartments, the Collective Residence was large enough to provide extensive shared rooms and areas and to offer social and cultural events in line with the DAB program.[2]
The fully equipped units were quite small, measuring 28–82 m²; however, just under half of the built area consisted of collective spaces. The ground floor acted as a connecting spatial element, opening to the four extending building wings of the five-story residential building.[3] The ground floor also housed common areas such as a restaurant, cafeteria kitchen, daycare, and various craft rooms. In addition, there was a reception area with a telephone switchboard and a small shop kiosk. The building concierge also took reservations for the babysitting service and requests for services to private spaces. Høje Søborg Collective Housing was one of the first residential properties in the history of collective living to have a recreation center available to the entire population of the neighborhood, in which music events, banquets, and meetings were held. The facility also included a fitness room, a smoking room, roof gardens, and art studios.[4]
During the first 20 years of operation, the numerous services and common areas were retained as originally planned, and used accordingly. In 1973, the cafeteria kitchen was closed, with meals now brought by a delivery service.[5] However, the obligation for residents to dine together remained a prerequisite for moving into the collective residence.[6]
Selected project data
Facade view today
Overall view
Reception area with kiosk
Restaurant with resident dining room
Footnotes
wohnbund e. V. (ed.) (2015): Europa, gemeinsam wohnen, p. 82.
Skodborg (year unknown): Kollektivhuset Høje Søborg, kollektive islaet, p. 98.
Zurich Museum of Design (ed.) (1986): Das andere Neue Wohnen, Neue Wohn(bau)formen, p. 44.
Skodborg (year unknown): Kollektivhuset Høje Søborg, kollektive islaet, p. 100.
Ibid., p. 102 f.
wohnbund e. V. (ed.) (2015): Europa, gemeinsam wohnen, p. 82.
Originally published in: Susanne Schmid, Dietmar Eberle, Margrit Hugentobler (eds.), A History of Collective Living. Forms of Shared Housing, Birkhäuser, 2019. Translation by Word Up!, LLC, edited for Building Types Online.