Sommarivabyen
Helsingør's new neighborhood based on social community, performative landscape, and excellent nature value for all.
Location
Helsingør, Denmark
Size
45,000
Year
2022 — 2025
Client
PensionDanmark
Role
Landscape architect
Partners & Collaborators
Holscher Nordberg Architects, Tegnestuen Lokal, Aaen Engineering, Transition.
Together with our partner PensionDanmark we are designing Sommarivabyen – the 45,000 m2 new development project on Helsingør’s old stadium grounds that will add more than 200 homes and a host of green, sustainable, and social attractions to the city.
Sommarivabyen is based on Helsingør’s special landscape features such as its coastal banks and old seabed towards Øresund. Here, an attractive new neighborhood is created with a clear identity that stems from the area’s multifaceted history as fortification, private garden, public park, and leisure place.
Sommarivabyen is designed with a high degree of variation in architecture, public space, landscape, and community. A wide range of housing typologies and sizes gives space for everyone and ensures the area’s social diversity.
The landscape design consists of three nature typologies drawn from the local area: Forest edges, grasslands, and wetlands. Central in the landscape design is a large community park, which functions both as rainwater reservoir and climate adaptation of the area, and as a nature-rich and attractive community place for recreation and nature experiences.
The project’s strong focus on social coherence and community feeling includes the design of community houses, urban gardening, playgrounds, outdoor fitness, and the central nature-rich community park tying Sommarivabyen closely together while futureproofing the neighborhood with regards to climate adaptation, microclimate optimization, and biological diversity.
Sommarivabyen has a strong focus on sustainability aiming for DGNB Gold certification, Nordic Ecolabelling, as well as extensive recycling of existing materials.
