Description

Danish architecture firm Lendager Group specialise in material upcycling, searching for potential in the 11.7 million tons of construction materials discarded each year in Denmark alone. They consider this “waste” material to be a valuable resource, and have developed a rich portfolio of projects that showcase innovative ways of using it anew. Considering that about half of a building’s whole-life CO₂ emissions originate from the construction process and from the production of its components, the architects concluded that a building’s performance is only half of the problem. Many of these ideas are manifested in Upcycle Studios – a series of townhouses in southern Copenhagen, in Ørestad.

Given that concrete is one of the construction industry’s most carbon intensive materials and must be reconsidered, it is striking how much concrete has been used in the Upcycle Studios project. But these 1400 tons of concrete are “upcycled”, using concrete waste from the construction of the Copenhagen metro (a project that is intimately connected to Ørestad’s planning, and was largely financed through the area’s real estate development). This forms the shell of the building and demonstrates how new techniques can maximise the recycled content of concrete while maintaining its structural efficiency and flexibility.

The timber used for floors, walls, and facades is a collection of offcuts and surplus material from Danish flooring manufacturer Dinesen. Resulting from a close collaboration between supplier and specifier, this allowed timber “waste” to be utilised rather than incinerated as would otherwise have been the case. By tapping into supply chain inefficiencies, the architects found materials that offer a high level of quality while remaining affordable.

75 percent of the project’s windows come from abandoned buildings in North Jutland, Denmark, forming a patchwork facade of glazing around the entrances to each townhouse. These windows are timber- rather than aluminium-framed, selected because the production of timber windows is much less energy- intensive, and also since their frames can easily be reconfigured. To meet modern insulation standards the frames have been retrofitted with recycled double-glazing, and these upcycled windows save up to 95% of the CO₂ usually released in the production of windows.

These are all materials that would have ended up in landfill, or an incineration plant, if they hadn’t been put to use in the construction of the townhouses. Coupled with an efficient envelope and on-site energy production, these measures drastically improved the building’s whole-life energy performance, with a projected reduction in total CO₂ emissions of 60 percent over 50 years. This is all the more remarkable since Upcycle Studios was a commercial project, defined by market conditions, rather than a one-off project, earmarked as “sustainable”, with fewer conflicting demands to fulfil.

Upcycle Studios also provides generous spaces for shared living in addition to private accommodation, prioritizing access over ownership. The 20 three-storey townhouses can easily be subdivided and were designed to maximise flexibility for their inhabitants; they can be used as offices, rental property, workshops or for other user-defined activities.

Originally published in Bauwelt 14.2020, pp. 52–55, abridged and edited for Building Types Online

 

 

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