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This new eco-village in Copenhagen is designed to meet all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

From health and well-being to addressing poverty, the UN17 development is redefining sustainability in architecture.

This new eco-village in Copenhagen is designed to meet all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

[Image: Sweco Architects]

BY Adele Peters3 minute read

A new eco-village under construction in Copenhagen redefines what sustainability means in architecture: Instead of focusing only on things like renewable energy or better materials, the project was designed to consider all 17 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, from “zero hunger” to “reduced inequalities.”

“We wanted to put forward something that was comprehensive, challenging, and, importantly, that hadn’t ever been done before,” says Martin Schultz Nielsen, investment director at NREP, the company behind the project, called UN17. The development, with five buildings that will soon house 1,100 residents, is being built on the last vacant piece of city-owned land in a new neighborhood called Ørestad, south of the city center.

[Image: Sweco Architects]

While the team considered every goal, some got more emphasis, including goal #3, “good health and well-being.” The paths that travel between the buildings and over rooftops are designed to get residents to walk more, rather than take the shortest route. In community gardens, there’s space to grow vegetables and meet neighbors. The dining hall will offer healthy cooking classes. There’s an on-site health clinic and gym. Indoor spaces are ventilated for better air quality, filled with natural light, and designed to minimize noise for better sleep.

The neighborhood is also designed to nudge people to spend more time outdoors. There’s a 550-acre nature preserve next to the site, and the courtyards will be filled with similar plants to connect to the wild area. Some of the buildings also have plant-covered roofs and facades. “We know that biodiversity has a huge impact on the health and wellbeing of the asset’s users, so even if there is a lot of nature close by the building, we wanted to invite it in,” Nielsen says. “When residents and guests are in the UN17 Village, we want it to feel like being ‘in nature’, rather than simply in close proximity to it.”

[Image: Sweco Architects]

Sometimes the goals conflicted with each other. Because they prioritized improving air quality, for example, it meant using more materials that increased CO2 emissions for the project. “It’s all interdependent, and you can’t max out on all parameters. This is why we call the process ‘building balance’,” he says.

Some of the 17 goals were easier to address than others. For goal #11, “sustainable cities and communities,” the developers focused on things like adding green spaces and encouraging people to bike instead of drive. (Being in Copenhagen, one of the most bike-friendly cities in the world, helps.) Others took a little more creativity, like goal #14, which focuses on protecting the world’s oceans; the team chose to use some materials that recycle plastic fishing nets, and avoided using other materials with chemicals that could pollute water.

[Image: Sweco Architects]

To address goal #1, “no poverty,” they committed to affordable rent and also added more creative ideas, like a sharing center where neighbors will be able to donate or borrow items and use a shared workshop to repair bikes or furniture.

The project focuses on building community through activities like group meals and volunteering, and deliberately designed living space for a diversity of age groups. “We’ve carried out research into co-living concepts, which shows that young families love to have elderly neighbors and the elderly love having children around,” Nielsen says. “It’s a win-win both ways.”

To tackle environmental goals, the project minimized materials and chose the lowest-carbon options, including wood and low-carbon cement, as much as possible. (Separately, NREP has an industry-leading goal to become carbon neutral—without offsets—by 2028.) Solar panels help provide power. Roofs and courtyards collect rainwater that can be reused in irrigation. The green spaces support wildlife like deer and pheasants.

The first stage of construction finished this fall, and the first residents will start moving in next summer. The developers are hoping it’s an example others follow. “We realize, however, that one project in Copenhagen, no matter how ambitious, will not change the world,” Nielsen says. “We are therefore keen to see the methods that we have deployed get unfolded in other cities and countries worldwide.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adele Peters is a senior writer at Fast Company who focuses on solutions to climate change and other global challenges, interviewing leaders from Al Gore and Bill Gates to emerging climate tech entrepreneurs like Mary Yap. She contributed to the bestselling book "Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century" and a new book from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies called State of Housing Design 2023 More


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