Domea.dk will apply the Living Places principles to establish sustainable communities and homes with a low carbon footprint and healthy indoor climates. So far, the plan is to initially develop a housing project of 40 new rental homes for Domea Faxe in the southern part of Zealand.

Making low-carbon emission housing affordable for many

Going forward, the concept is expected to play a significant role in Domea.dk's upcoming new construction and development plans. Hopefully, this new partnership will contribute to scaling the concept, principles, and the extensive knowledge that Living Places has provided, making it accessible to far more people than is currently the case.

Through the agreement, the VELUX Group shares analyses, calculations and simulations from Living Places as well as detailed information about the five principles behind the Living Places concept with Domea.dk.

In July and August 2024, VELUX Group invited nearly 100 architects, entrepreneurs, designers and journalists from 12 countries to live at Living Places Copenhagen as part of an experiment that builds on years of research led by VELUX Group in scientifically monitoring different model homes to better understand how building design impacts residents' comfort and satisfaction while assessing indoor environmental quality and its effects on human well-being.

Living Places explores how to build homes with an ultra-low CO₂ footprint and an optimal indoor climate using standard materials, methods and technologies available today.

Using 17 environmental sensors strategically placed in the two houses, a questionnaire as well as personal testimonies, VELUX Group examined the houses' indoor comfort performance in terms of indoor air quality, thermal comfort, natural light levels and noise as well as guests’ perceptions of the houses’ functional comfort, such as the layout, their experiences with the community and atmosphere, and their overall satisfaction with the houses.

Five key conclusions from the Living Places Living experiment

1. Living Places can inspire and showcase how to build sustainably
For over 20 years, the VELUX Group has initiated and participated in more than 30 demonstration buildings exploring the future of healthy buildings through full scale experiments. In 2021, VELUX Group launched an open innovation process to change the way we build today towards more sustainable practices and to decarbonize buildings. The result, Living Places, shows that it is possible to build more sustainable and healthy buildings using standard materials, methods and technologies that are available today.

2. Healthy buildings that are good for people and the planet can be achieved by applying a holistic approach focusing more on comfort, energy and environment parameters
Advocating for the well-being of people and the planet requires a holistic approach to sustainable living and building practices that looks at the entire life cycle of a building, from design and construction to use.

3. The way we design our homes can significantly influence residents' well-being and their way of living
Our homes are an important part of our overall health. We spend 90% of our time indoors, yet 1 out of 3 Europeans is exposed to at least one indoor climate hazard such as lack of daylight, cold, damp or noise, according to the Healthy Homes Barometer 2022 and Healthy Buildings Barometer 2024. The way we build and live directly impacts our physical and mental health. The design of the house and indoor environment has a strong positive impact on residents' well-being, with over 70% of Living Places guests reporting improved mood, increased relaxation, and a sense of connection to nature while experiencing minimal negative effects.

4. The design of Living Places Copenhagen, which optimizes daylight and natural ventilation, has been well-received by guests
Designed to optimize daylight and natural ventilation, 83% of all guests favoured spending time in rooms with more natural light while 90% also found it easy to adjust the shadings to ensure an optimal indoor environment. As part of creating well-being at home, functional factors like design, layout, temperature, lighting, and indoor climate can invoke immediate feelings of physical comfort in a building. During their stay, 85% of the guests perceived the houses to fit their functional needs.

5. Living Places Copenhagen has achieved an indoor thermal environment within the comfortable range according to the European Standard
On a conceptual basis, Living Places had been awarded a first-class indoor climate. The results indicate "comfortable ranges" which reflect the actual performance during the experiment period which included the indoor temperature being within the best level of the European Standard (EN 16798-1:2019 standard (Category I)) 89% of the time in one house and 90% of the time in the other and within the comfortable range of the European Standard (EN 16798-1:2019 standard (Category II)) 98% of the time in both houses.

To learn more visit: Build for Life - Living Places Learnings 

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.

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.

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.

About Living Places
The Living Places concept is developed by the VELUX Group in collaboration with EFFEKT architects and Artelia engineers. The first prototypes were presented in Copenhagen in April 2023. Living Places has already been nominated for 14 national and international architecture and design awards and has won 8 of them. Take a virtual tour through Living Places Copenhagen or read more about the project.

The Netherlands face enormous challenges in the built environment that is dominated by a significant housing shortage, houses being built with four times the recommended CO₂ footprint[1], and homes becoming increasingly complex and less comfortable for users. The Smûk house is an example of how to address these challenges as it showcases a house based on the Living Places concept that is affordable to build, healthier to live in with a minimal CO₂ footprint.

The built environment is responsible for 38% of all Dutch CO₂ emissions with 27% of these coming from energy use during the building's lifecycle and 11% from emissions during the production of building materials[2]. These numbers underline the urgency of transforming the building industry by applying new construction methods and ways of thinking.

A new way forward for Dutch housing
Although the Smûk house offers higher comfort and is affordable to build, it still faces challenges in Dutch legislation to actually be built as an alternative to the current housing tradition. From environmental plans and installations to visible beam constructions, there are challenges to overcome in urban planning and to achieve permits.

BGDD is known for its innovative approach and collaborates with local farmers to grow biobased insulation materials, such as hemp and flax. Additionally, peat meadow areas are flooded to cultivate cattail and miscanthus. This not only reduces CO₂ emissions but also produces circular materials for construction. 

The Smûk house was unveiled on Thursday, September 19, at the construction company's site in Dokkum, Friesland where over 350 customers, policymakers, and partners participated in a large event that focused on inspiring, connecting and setting new standards. Her Majesty Queen Máxima, Director General from the Ministry of Housing and Spatial planning Mr. C. Kuijpers, King’s commissioner from the province of Fryslân mr. A. Brok, and Mayor from the municipality of Noard-East mr. J. Kramer were also present at the event.

[1]Coppe8: Woningbouw binnen planetaire grenzen
[2] Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC); Whole life carbon

The total carbon footprint of the construction industry accounts for approximately 30% of CO2 emissions in Denmark[1], of which 10% comes from the production of building materials and materials for the entire building and construction industry, including the construction of bridges, roads, renovation and new construction[2]. Consequently, there is a need to implement and scale new solutions with a lower carbon footprint if the construction sector is to succeed in the green transition. The new partnership agreement between the VELUX Group and HusCompagniet is a good example of how partners across the construction sector join forces to realize this ambition.

HusCompagniet wishes to contribute to the development of the construction industry - especially within sustainability and the green transition. Since 2019, HusCompagniet has worked with sustainability initiatives as an integral part of its strategy and is now systematically collecting data and knowledge from its houses and suppliers to establish an informed basis for reducing CO2 emissions. With the partner agreement on Living Places, HusCompagniet will gain an even deeper insight into how to work with material selection, design, CO2 footprint, and health in homes going forward.

The ambition behind the award-winning Living Places project is to inspire change and show that it is already possible to build with lower CO2 emissions and a better indoor climate at a scalable and affordable level. Living Places is based on five key principles; that homes should be healthy, simple, flexible, scalable, and empower communities.

With the agreement, the VELUX Group shares analyses, calculations, and simulations from Living Places as well as detailed information about the five principles with HusCompagniet. HusCompagniet will work to implement this knowledge in several future projects with the ambition of eventually offering homes with a first-class indoor climate and as low a carbon footprint as possible to Danish homeowners. Thus, the partner agreement is a long-term collaboration between the two parties, where the overall ambition is to push sustainable development and translate insights from the Living Places project to homes for the general Danish population.

About Living Places
The Living Places concept is developed by the VELUX Group in collaboration with EFFEKT architects and Artelia engineers, who opened the doors to the first prototype in Copenhagen in April last year. Since then, several Danes have shown interest in building houses based on the Living Places concept.

Read more about Living Places

[1] https://concito.dk/nyheder/nye-co2-krav-kan-paavirke-flere-facetter-byggeriet , https://www.ft.dk/samling/20191/almdel/KEF/bilag/393/2229190.pdf
[2] https://www.ft.dk/samling/20191/almdel/KEF/bilag/393/2229190.pdf

One in four Europeans live in buildings where indoor air quality falls below national standards.  Since we spend 90% of our time indoors, how we build and live directly impacts our physical and mental health. Living in a building with a poor indoor climate can result in severe health issues with ill effects ranging from respiratory and skin problems, headaches, and allergies to serious mental health concerns and life-threatening heat or cold[1]. 

The Living Places concept explores how to create an optimal indoor climate with the lowest possible carbon footprint using readily available and tested products, materials, and technologies. On a conceptual basis, Living Places has been awarded a first-class indoor climate, but now the time has come to test how the houses perform with real people living in them.

Since July over 20 architects, influencers, and families from across Europe have lived in the Living Places Copenhagen houses in the railroad district in Copenhagen.

Live monitoring of indoor climate performance
The indoor climate performance of Living Places was predicted during the design stage using simulations and compared synthetically against a benchmark Danish house through the Active House Radar.

The health impacts of Living Places Copenhagen on its occupants are measured through the data from spatial sensors tracking temperature, relative humidity, C02, barometric pressure, particles, light, sounds, occupancy, and some VOCs and the learning will be shared during the fall of 2024.

See the virtual tour of Living Places Copenhagen and read more about Living Places
 

[1] Healthy Buildings Barometer 2024