ADEPT

Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing

Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj

Katrinebjerg Dept. 76 Student Housing

ADEPT + Luplau Poulsen

PHOTOGRAPHS
Rasmus Hjortshoj

AREA
7200 m²

YEAR
2020

LOCATION
Aarhus, Denmark

CATEGORY
Dorms

Text description provided by the architects.

A sense of community, visible sustainability, and integrated artwork are among the most important elements in this student housing association department that shows a well-designed example of how to build dense, relevant, and green.

Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj

Copenhagen-based ADEPT is the design architect behind the 130 DGNB Gold-certified studios and small family homes in Aarhus DK.

Completed in 2020, Dept.76. was designed for a local housing association, with the aim to reduce loneliness through opportunities to engage in social activities within the complex.

From the courtyard to the roof terrace, the complex is characterized by community-based solutions and by building-integrated art, which adorns walls, corridors, and stairs throughout.

Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj

The 130 units are organized in four clusters forming an L-shaped building that embraces the shared courtyard.  The simple design is varied by shifts in the building height and by the partly angled facade towards the street, which breaks down the scale of the whole volume. Reddish-brown screen tiles and clearly marked openings detail the exterior facades.Towards the courtyard, the façade is clad with vertical wooden lamellae, which in time will be greened with climbing plants.

The gables of the complex continue as a low wall encircling the courtyard. Dept. 76 is a good example of how community creation, and a sense of belonging, can go hand in hand by optimizing square meters and materials.

Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj

Quite simply, the architecture embraces the social element by prioritizing areas for communities to form and unfold.

At the same time, a quite narrow material palette and carefully chosen solutions contribute to strengthening the complex’s identity.

Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj

Dept. 76 was built with a limited budget but prioritizes a varied architecture with quality materials and design solutions.

Among the choices that have resulted in the DGNB Gold label is the choice of certified or eco-labeled materials where possible, focus on durability, and the possibility of material recycling as part of a circular mindset.

Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj

Another important focal area was to make the building literally green by including greened facades and roofs with rainwater local handling, as well as a garden-like courtyard with integrated climate adaptation and good conditions for micro-local biodiversity.

Furthermore, the overall operating economy is an integrated part of the design through optimized processes and accessible supply infrastructure.

Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
© Rasmus Hjortshoj


Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
Section - CC
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
Section - EE
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
Elevation - North
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
Elevation - East
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
Elevation - West
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
Plan - Site


Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
Plan
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
Plan - Ground floor
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
Plan
Katrinebjerg - Dept. 76 Student Housing
Plan

ADEPT
T +45 5059 7069
ADEPT
Struenseegade 15A, 4.tv, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark