Shaped as four individual clusters of culture, the community house unites the entire local community under one roof. Much like a box of wonders, the community house presents multiple cultural activities, organized in a wealth of spaces and functions that strengthens learning within the fields of music, technology, creativity and movement. In the community house, a daycare is seamlessly integrated into the learning environment, giving the children a sense of belonging early on. Thus, in the community house individual experiences can flow together, creating synergy and fostering creativity for citizens regardless of age, gender and culture. As a result, the community house becomes the social concourse of the city, placed in close connection to the central pedestrian way. Our main architectural concept further strengthens the community house’s position as a cultural centre by letting the everyday life of the city flow into the house from several entry points. In addition, the community house will visually be closely connected to the local urban environment, becoming a natural part of the city from day one.
A cultural concourse
The new cultural centre will be a pulsating incubator for all of Høje Taastrup. To achieve this we break down the scale, creating safety and intriguing curiosity. Inside, citizens have access to spaces for experimentation, playing music, doing art , debating, conducting research, performing dance and multiple other cultural activities, all fueling an active local community. We have designed the community house as a learning environment filled with various informal settings for interaction. In the exterior design, we have created multiple visual and physical settings, organized in different zones for movement, play and stay. Each zone is designed with its own character traits, providing options for play and stay according to age and preference in activity. Among these spaces is the new pedestrian way – the so called culture walk – which holds learning spaces, four squares for movement and play and several terraces. In addition, a key user group is children and youth, therefore we have carefully created the architecture to give them a sense of belonging and ownership, in turn facilitating a sense of connection to the community.
Sustainable ambitions in the cultural centre
We have designed the community house based on five principles for sustainability:
- A robust and flexible frame
- Circular economy focused on resource consumption
- Indoor climate focused on thermic, atmospheric, visual and acoustic conditions
- Energy efficiency
- Local ownership
- Environment and carbon emission
As an educational principle, we have integrated visible sustainable initiatives such as moveable walls, monitors reporting on the building’s energy consumption, waste management and vegetable gardens. Additionally, during the building process it will be possible to look into the construction site to learn about how our built environment is created. To ensure a coherent sustainable concept, both in terms of social, environmental and economic sustainability, we have screened the project within the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and inspired by the new DGNB Diamond certification scheme, focused on architectural quality as a sustainability driver. The project specifically address the following Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17.
