Type:
Housing social pilot project
Year:
2019-2021
Status:
Phase 1 completed, Phase 2 under development
Location:
Bryn in Oslo, Norway
Contact persons:
Kaja Melbye
Client:
Husbankstøttet utviklingsprosjekt
Collaborating partners:
Pådriv
Byboliger for Alle (Urban housing for everyone) is a social housing pilot project, conducted in collaboration with Pådriv and supported by the Norwegian State Housing Bank (Husbanken). Based on one of JM’s most centrally located properties in Bryn, the project explores how new housing concepts can contribute to active ground floors in development areas and increase the number of affordable homes.
Bryn is set to transform from scattered commercial and industrial buildings into a new and vibrant neighborhood in the coming years. In such development areas, ground floors often remain vacant in the initial years. The requirement for outward-facing activities on ground level is often challenging to fulfill because there are too few residents in the early stages to sustain such offerings. At the same time, the city is in dire need of more affordable housing accessible to a broader segment of the population.
Byboliger for Alle highlights the potential in this contradiction and explores the possibilities for a gradual and flexible development of ground floors: from affordable housing and communal areas in the early years of development to a situation-adapted mix of commercial, neighborhood, and residential functions when the neighborhood is fully developed. This requires the provision of flexible and adaptable ground floors that can accommodate various functions and uses over time. The ceiling height should be suitable for residential units over two levels, which can be converted into spacious commercial areas and communal spaces. The project also proposes greater flexibility in the provision of outdoor spaces, emphasizing community and year-round use. By incorporating parts of the housing’s outdoor space requirements under cover on the ground floors, the rooms become social and green year-round gardens, acting as catalysts for increased urban life.
Byboliger for Alle emphasizes housing and the people who live in them as vital resources for vibrant urban life. Activities centered around residents can contribute to a greater sense of community, neighborliness, security, and belonging both while a new neighborhood is developing and in the long term.
Download Byboliger for Alle here
