Living Places Copenhagen wins Danish Design Award 2024: A recognition of the future of building design

The VELUX Group proudly announces that Living Places Copenhagen has won the prestigious Danish Design Award 2024.

This year, the award has a new value-based focus and honours Living Places Copenhagen, developed by the VELUX Group, EFFEKT, Artelia and Enemærke & Petersen, as a pioneering example of design that creates positive change and addresses the major climate and health challenges we face today.

 

The Danish Design Award 2024 marks a new chapter in its history by moving away from fixed categories and focusing on solutions that challenge traditional boundaries. This year, judging was based on five core values: Do No Harm, Pursue Beauty, Lead the Way, Prove Your Impact and Solve Problems Worth Solving. Living Places Copenhagen was highlighted by the jury as a project that combines beautiful design with a low carbon footprint, healthy indoor environments and a whole new approach to how we live together.

 

"Living Places Copenhagen goes beyond ideas and turns ambitious goals into reality. It's not just about making a difference with the extremely low CO2 emissions of 3.85 kilos per square metre per year. It's a vision for how we can build and live together in the future, strengthening communities, preserving our individuality and improving human health. This design solution represents a vision of how we can build for both people and the planet at the same time."

Jury argumentation

 

A new paradigm in the construction industry

The Living Places concept was developed to show how an innovative approach to construction can help solve global climate and health challenges. The project has been exhibited as prototypes in the Railroad District in Copenhagen for the past 1.5 years, showing how it is possible to build homes with an ultra-low carbon footprint and with a first-class indoor climate - at a price that matches the market for newly built detached and terraced houses at scale.

 

"Living Places is about creating healthy and flexible homes that make a difference for both people and the environment. New data from tests of Living Places Copenhagen shows a clear correlation between good indoor climate and increased well-being, confirming that a focus on health should be at the centre of future home design. It also shows that we can in fact build houses that are both healthy to live in and have significantly less impact on the planet - without waiting for new technology."

Lone Feifer, Director of Sustainable Buildings at the VELUX Group

 

Design that sets a new standard

The Living Places project has already received significant national and international recognition, and with this award, the Danish Design Award recognises the aesthetic and design quality of the project, which goes hand in hand with the sustainable principles.

 

“Living Places is an example of how good design is about asking the right questions. We set out to develop homes that would be healthy for the planet and for people, built with simple and circular construction principles, create communities, be flexible and affordable. Overall, it represents a paradigm shift that puts life at the centre of the design task in a broad sense - and it creates innovation on many different levels.”

Sinus Lynge, Founding Partner at EFFEKT.