Hvidovre City Council gives green light for new housing and nature project in the green wedge

Green light for the Gardener's Garden

"We are very pleased that Hvidovre's municipal council has given the green light for Gartnerhaven, which will create 600 new homes for the city and at the same time provide Hvidovre's citizens with more nature. We have been a consultant for Sweco on the extensive urban planning work that forms the basis for the entire project, and now we are looking forward to getting started on the fine 18,000 square metre housing project that we will design for our client Core Bolig X," says Torben JuulDesign Director and Partner at KHR Architecture.

KHR Architectures Urban planning expert Elisabeth Jeppesen has been responsible for the urban development process as a consultant for Sweco. She explains:

"Local plan 472 now makes it possible to realise a large nature area and several residential areas on an area east of Byvej and north of Brostykkevej, which was previously part of one of the Fingerplan's green wedges. The approximately 360,000 square metres of land, equivalent to about 50 football pitches, has previously been used for agriculture and horticulture, which has given the project its name. Within the entire area, only 100,000 square metres may be used for housing. This means that the majority of the large urban development area will be converted into a natural area that everyone can enjoy."

The masterplan for Gartnerhaven and the local plan are a collaboration between Stender, Plushusene and Core Housing X. In addition to the extensive overall and local planning work for Sweco, KHR Architecture has outlined an 18,000 square metre residential project for Core Bolig X on one of the area's four building sites.

"The Finger Plan was revised in 2019, and this has opened up the possibility of building on the edge of the green wedge if you also improve the quality of the area's nature. In this way, you not only secure 600 new homes, but also create a natural area that benefits the entire local community," explains Elisabeth Jeppesen from KHR Architecture.

"As an urban planning consultant, I have been involved in drawing up the masterplan, which today has resulted in a local plan that makes Gartnerhaven possible. Now I'm looking forward to the next phase, where KHR Architecture is the architect for one of the three housing projects to be built in Gartnerhaven."

Housing with a focus on wellbeing and community

"Core X Bolig focuses on developing affordable housing, while at the same time the architecture promotes community and contact with the new natural area," says Design Director and Partner at KHR Architecture, Torben Juul.

"By building both townhouses and apartments of different sizes, we create an environment that matches different needs and allows people to stay in the neighbourhood, even if they eventually need more or less space,"

"A total of 224 Swan-labelled homes will be built on our development site, all of which will have an outdoor space in the form of a balcony or terrace and the point houses will have green sedum roofs. Three different building typologies and shifts in the individual houses, as well as setbacks in the facade, will be used to create a more dynamic expression. Not least the interaction with the new nature will make this project something special, and I'm sure it will be an attractive place for families with children and others who want to live in green surroundings close to the city."

Background

What is KHR Architecture's role in the Gardener's Garden?

As a consultant, KHR Architecture has been involved in the development of the masterplan and local plan, as well as outlining one of the four construction projects to be built in Gartnerhaven for Core Bolig X.

Elisabeth Jeppesen from KHR Byplan has followed the project from master plan to finished local plan and, as a consultant for Sweco, guided the development team behind the project safely throughout the process, coordinated and delivered the deliverables and dialogue with Hvidovre Municipality's administration.

KHR Architecture is also the architectural consultant for Core Bolig X, the developer of 18,000 square metres of housing in Gartnerhaven.

What will be built in the Gardener's Garden?

There are a total of three building plots in Gartnerhaven, all of which are zoned for residential construction of a total of approximately 600 homes. KHR Architecture is the architectural consultant for the construction of building plot IIb with 32 terraced houses and 192 apartments divided into 3 main building typologies, all of which are three storeys high: Point houses, terraced houses and long houses. The townhouses are built around a centrally located distribution area and have green sedum roofs. The 32 terraced houses have south/southwest-facing terraces and classic pitched roofs with dark slate cladding, while the longhouses have a more modern, asymmetrical pitched roof. Both the townhouses and longhouses contain single-storey apartments of varying sizes. Read more about the project here.

What is the legal basis for Gartnerhaven in Fingerplan 2019?

Finger Plan 2019 § Section 18(9):

"The areas 1 and 2 at Byvej (Hvidovre Municipality) marked on map appendix E can be removed from the inner green wedges and transferred to the outer metropolitan area, rural area. A transfer of the areas to the outer metropolitan area, urban area and urban development on the areas requires that area 3 is permanently transferred from agricultural use to a green area for general, non-urban outdoor recreational use. In addition, a transfer requires that green connections and path connections are ensured from area 3 westwards towards the green wedges at Vestvolden. The stated prerequisites for area 3 must be fulfilled within 48 months from the entry into force of Fingerplan 2019. Otherwise, areas 1 and 2 will be returned to the inner green wedges.

What paved the way for the above change to the Finger Plan?

Following an enquiry from landowners in the area, Hvidovre Municipality entered into a dialogue with the Danish Business Authority about a change of use of the area east of Byvej and north of Brostykkevej in Hvidovre.

This resulted in section 18(9) of Fingerplan 2019.

What does the change mean in practice?

§ Section 18(9) allows for the transfer of parts of the inner green wedges east of Byvej to the outer metropolitan area, where housing can be built.

The area transfer and subsequent urban development requires that the majority of the area is permanently transferred from agricultural use to a green area for general, non-urban outdoor recreational use. This means that the principle of green wedges is maintained on large parts of the area and that urban development takes place in connection with the existing city.

The area where Gartnerhaven is to be established has until now been used for horticulture and agriculture. A total of four building plots have been zoned, owned and developed by Core Bolig X, Stender and NREP/Plushusene.

How did the new Local Plan 472 come about?

With the new Fingerplan 2019 in place, landowners, with the help of Urban planning expert Elisabeth Jeppesen prepared a joint masterplan for the area - both the residential areas and the nature area - and requested Hvidovre Municipality to prepare a new planning basis. Hvidovre Municipality decided to initiate the local plan process based on the master plan.

On 29 August 2023, a new local plan was adopted to realise the master plan's visions of a new large nature area and two new residential areas. The focus here is on developing an attractive nature and residential area with a focus on communities and recreational values, where the interaction between nature and the open residential structure gives the area some very special qualities.

Visualisation: The image on this page is a visualisation made for a local plan proposal and does not show the final project proposal. Image rights: Hvidovre Municipality