Helsinge Nord, fremtidens bydel i Helsinge

The winning proposal, Helsinge Haveby (Helsinge Garden City) - Village of Tomorrow, is the concept and masterplan for a new residential enclave 55 minutes north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Helsinge Haveby will be a sustainable and self-sufficient neighbourhood, where the traditional monocultural agriculture fields are transformed into shared permaculture gardens and food production, and traditional detached houses replaced by social clusters integrated in the surrounding natural landscape.

Country life renaissance
The winning project responds to an ever-growing demand for increased life quality in the built environment among future home owners. A new study by research institute YouGov, made for the Homeowners Knowledge Database, Bolius, shows that every fifth person living in the city today plans to live in the countryside in 2030 – calling for a better, healthier living environment, stronger communities and the provision of affordable homes.

Aiming to create an attractive alternative for the many city-dwellers looking to relocate outside of major cities, the new sustainable and self-sufficient residential masterplan is rooted in three main themes: a robust, sustainable natural environment with rich biodiversity, more community and an affordable lifestyle.
These three parameters together provide new possibilities to live a more healthy and self-sufficient close to nature and within commuting distance from Copenhagen.

From detached houses and unoccupied farmland to a new attractive garden city
Transforming traditional mono-cultural agriculture fields into a diverse mix of wetlands, meadows, orchards and agroforestry, the new neighbourhood enables its future residents to lead a more sustainable lifestyle with a higher degree of self-sufficiency while offering the same services, amenities and freedom as urban life in the city.

The traditional detached houses are replaced by social clusters integrated in the surrounding natural landscape. The majority of the land is shared among the residents allowing for a larger managed food production fully integrated between the buildings. By integrating residential development, decentralized energy production and local organic food production, the new masterplan concept strives to offer the ability to harvest crops directly outside your door as a fully integrated service in the line of running water in the tap or access to electric car sharing. This builds upon the theory that the proximity to the food production can help eliminate food waste and lower the general energy consumption.

Strong identity and sense of community
Helsinge Haveby is a proposal for a new way of living in the Danish countryside, integrated in the nature and with a strong identity and sense of community. The settlement is structured in clusters, with a large amount of common spaces and a high degree of sharing that enable a more sustainable way of living.

A food hub, centrally situated in the new area will be the main driver and meeting point for both locals and visitors. The identity of the new neighbourhood is crucial to attract new types of residents and, together with the transformation of the landscape, the food hub will provide social and food related activities such as markets and gathering days which will be the key to creating a strong identity and an awareness of the new area.

To create a neighbourhood with social diversity, both regarding income and lifestyles, the clusters differ in form, materiality, sizes and types of ownerships. However, all houses have a private outdoor area and a direct connection to the common landscapes. The clusters will be developed as 25 small villages, with each their own characteristics, inspired from the qualities of their location. As in the old Danish villages, they are all structured around a common, a pond or a square, where the community and public life can unfold and thrive.

Elements in the new masterplan
- New train station with connection to Copenhagen in 55 minutes.
- Bridge connecting the new neighbourhood with the city of Helsinge on the other side of the main road
- Food hub with local restaurant and farm shop for distribution of local food production
- Social clusters with smaller private outdoor spaces in direct connection with each house
- Variety of recreational activities along the new open spaces and system of paths
- Diverse natural surroundings including forest gardens, fruit gardens, kitchen garden and high biodiversity
- Rich eco-system and self-sufficiency

Quotes from EFFEKT and karres+brands
”There is a large demand for the opportunity to live a more sustainable life, both in terms of food consumption, energy consumption, resource sharing, re-circulation and mobility. However, it is a desire that is hard to realize today. It is difficult for an ordinary family to fully live by the intentions, because it requires control over where the energy comes from, who produces the food, how it is produced, how far it is transported and so on.
We suggest to build communities around self-sufficiency of food, self-supply of green energy for housing and transport, sharing of resources and recycling of waste. On a neighbourhood scale, this will save money, energy and resources for each resident.” says Sinus Lynge, co-founder of EFFEKT.

”It can seem like a daunting task for a regular family to produce its own food, but if 700 families join together to maintain a common kitchen garden and employ perhaps 2-3 gardeners or farming agronomists to be in charge of the daily operation and maintenance, it becomes a realistic alternative, where each family can contribute depending on their time and desire. To offer such a solution as an integrated part of a residential area holds a lot of positive potentials and impact on our way of life. Today, we throw out 30% of our food, but if you can harvest the salad when you need it, instead of storing it in the fridge, we will automatically waste less and eat better.” says Sinus Lynge, co-founder of EFFEKT.

”As part of the industrialization, the food production disappeared completely from our cities and from our everyday life. But local cultivation and preparation of food can offer both quality of life, health and new communities between people across ages, cultural backgrounds or political views. This holds a great potential.” says Sinus Lynge, co-founder of EFFEKT.

“In a rapidly urbanizing world, the countryside is challenged to reinvent and rediscover itself. In order to truly compete with the city it must take advantage of its unique qualities and offer space for experimentation. The village of the future is a place where nature and self-sufficiency come together in a way that is relevant for young families of today,” says Darius Reznek, project leader at karres+brands.

“We are looking to reverse the impact of intensive farming practices and rediscover the true qualities of the land. This sets the tone for the masterplan and defines a community where living comes together with food production, energy efficiency and water management,” says Darius Reznek, project leader at karres+brands.



About HelsingeHaveby
Location: Helsinge, Denmark
Client: Gribskov Municipality
Architects: EFFEKT
Collaborators: karres+brands, Atkins, CFBO, Trafikplan
Program: Masterplan for new village with 700 homes
Size: 700.000 m2
Status: 1st prize in competition 2016/2017
Website: www.effekt.dk, www.karresenbrands.nl