What If We Could Design Our Buildings In A Way That Was Healthy For Both People And The Planet?

The ‘Living Places’ concept rethinks our understanding of buildings in a new way through sustainable solutions and practical action. VELUX, together with EFFEKT architects and Artelia engineers, have explored how the building industry can advance the health of people and the planet through a scalable building concept that aims to achieve a 3-times lower CO2 footprint and a 3-times better indoor climate by Danish standards, all while enhancing the health and well-being of residents - and at a competitive price!

[walkingjudy]

My home has 5 large Velux skylights. The 2 highest skylights are left open most days for natural ventilation. The natural light they bring into the home is priceless.

[mujtabashah]

It's amazing how we can get to see the play of natural light being emphasised in the design of homes. I think this whole project is beautiful and importantly, doable. Government policies need to be strengthened to pursue such plans.

[conniekenny]

I’ve been living with Velux skylights for almost 40 years, they’ve never leaked and have afforded me such joy in those years of sun, moon, blue sky, clouds, and even rain. In my next home, I’m planning on several! I love them!

[jeffhikes]

One test is better than a thousand expert assumptions- why aren't there people living in these model homes, trying them out? Real families, with kids and dogs and patio furniture, experience four seasons, finding out that the deck is way too hot in the summer and too cold and windy in the winter. Watching the sunlight move across the walls is a romantic architectural favorite, but has little to do with livability.

[kloss]

I designed a passive home 16 years ago. It doesn't freeze with no heat on even in WI winters and the whole house can be cooled with a small bedroom AC unit. Homes in full sun.

[juanlugofitness]

1:44 the flower pot in the background looks fantastic. I’ve never seen a plant pot with wheels. I would love to get one of those.

[Ajwad]

I think the key to success for projects like this is efficiency, like will it keep me warm during the winter and chilled during summer, will it have enough outdoorsy feeling to not feel choked up but also closed enough to feel cozy and not feel as if I had the whole outside world with me in my bedroom, will it be durable and handle bugs and just other problems…etc

[WaKincaid]

A wise person said, with declining population old homes will be the homes of the 21st century. Remodeling, and improving what has been built is the way forward. Old lumber, and materials won’t be replaced, saving on sustainable resources, the foot prints on Earth 🌎.

[cillacairns]

What an amazing project. Love the interplay between light, heat and glass, and the consideration of community and buildings. Great observations and learnings, and plenty more to discover yet!

[lydiarowe]

These houses are full of natural light reflecting in a living space that is so inviting..clean lines that are uncluttered..the grouping together of this project connected with decking and garden spaces is so very attractive for anyone wanting a complex of two or three providing for an extended family or a small business..they are a beautifully designed construction….well ✅ done

[Angstroem]

This feels very greenwashed and full of buzzwords. The design seems to be more concerned with sunlight on a wall than the utilisation of green solutions for actual benefits. Why build a house to be easily dismantled, if you can just build it long lasting, multipurpose and beautiful, so people want to use it at its present location for a long time? 
But for that the design would have to be practical which it isn't:
- the flat rooftop is prone to leakage and accumulates snow in the winter
- the double hight space above the kitchen is wasted space that makes the lower floor difficult to heat in winter and the cooling updraft in summer can just as easily be achieved with a window in the stairwell
- the window placement has no pleasing order on the outside and does not seem to take the passive heating possibility of the sun into account
- if you only allow for communal outdoor space the main benefit of a detached single family house (a private garden all around your house) is negated and a terraced house or even a low density apartment block would surely be more eco friendly.

[urhor]

I would like to inspect the floorplans for better analysis and here are my considerations:
1) How much time do typical Danish people spend inside their home? This affects the need of space.

2) How social are they? How much do they value private space? How soundproof are the houses? If I play guitar in my room, does it disturb family members? Do Danish really communicate closely with their neighbours?

3) Open plan. How loud is the dish washer? Does the noisepollution affect my playing?

4) Kids playing around. Kids make too much noise. Home is the place for quiet and relaxation. How can this be acquired?

5) Rain. It rains a lot in Danmark. How can one access transportation without getting soaked?

6) Green spaces. Is there any possibility to increase the grassed areas without compromising the terrace path?

[rosemarymcbride]

Designing for disassembly is so important, glad there are people designing with that in mind! Also likely makes maintenance easier for occupants in many cases

[drawingmoo]

I love the approach you have to this. It's rare to find an environmentalist cause that doesn't feel like it is coming at the viewer from an ivory tower. The designs are executed with the mental health of the dweller in mind, and I love the attention paid to the quality of light inside the house, and the blurring of indoors and outdoors by bringing that light in, and that garden-to-table aspect, which a lot of people seem to ignore these days. I'm nowhere remotely nearby, but one day I would love to call a house like the one in this project home.

[markhirstwood]

So great. I visited Denmark and would gladly go back. Good voices, tasteful, efficient, comfy, etc. It goes back to about 1, 700 BCE and onwards from then, mostly U106/R-L48 and I1 groups...

[jeyparker]

as an architect i loved the idea of thoughtful material design, the sunlight travelling across the walls, and the veggie gardens.
as an introvert i felt that the lack of privacy, my own outdoor space [outside my own house] that i need for recharging, and constant presence of people right outside of my ground floor windows was giving me a panic attack.
some people will thrive in this environment, but this "intensity" of community isn't for everyone.

[mariusebauer]

Love this project. Really nice to meet the people making it happen. Thanks for sharing this one!

[louisemaclaren]

I love the interplay on light and the seemingly simple designs. I agree that materials are key to more sustainable building practices, whether or not we use wood, or pumice, sheep's woool or hay bales to insulate to create better buildings. For my fine art masters degree I researched alternative materials for casting pieces of sculpture. So instead of contrete I used slaked lime (NHL 3.5 and 5), which is traditionally also used on old buildings as mortar and lime wash. Despite be told many times that I could not cast using this material (I mixed sand and sometimes pumice in with it). It did work but it needs to cure for much longer. I hope I can continue my making and research one day-I have had to go back to work as I need to find a secure home. Here in the UK despite many houses being built the fiscal cost is so high to have a roof over your head, let alone an environmentally friendly one! 14:43

[serenenviro]

Beautiful aesthetics, especially the interplay of sunlight and air movement. Great to see sustainable practices integrated in design and built. Inspirational. Sincere regards

[jaronjackson]

Very nice. As an architect/designer also, I too believe in the concept of bringing the outdoors inside and vice versa. Thanks for sharing. God bless🙏🏼