New project to assess the values of disadvantaged housing areas

A new collaboration between Realdania and Aarhus School of Architecture will be assessing the values of building cultural heritage in disadvantaged public housing estates

19.03.2019

A new collaboration between Realdania and Aarhus School of Architecture will describe and assess the values of building cultural heritage in socially disadvantaged public housing areas. The project is based on the fact that socially disadvantaged public housing estates contain a range of culture-historical, environmental, and architectural values, which are worthy of conservation and can also provide a basis for the further structural development many of these areas are undergoing these years.

Based on existing value assessment methods, such as, for instance, Screening of Cultural Environments (SAK) and Værdisætning af Fredningsværdier (VAF) (valuation of conservation values) a method for assessing the estates’ fundamental building-cultural narratives and the physical characteristics that support them will be developed. There will also be an emphasis on identifying how these values appear to relate to current demands that are often imposed on the areas, including urban integration of the housing estates, their architectural variety, and the degree to which functions are mixed. Finally, recommendations will be made about which physical features would be essential to maintain in a future development process.

The assessment will serve as a strategic tool for prioritising and developing the socially disadvantaged housing areas based on their existing qualities and cultural heritage values.

Aarhus School of Architecture will be applying the method to the 15 most disadvantaged “ghetto” areas, as defined by the Danish Government on 1 December 2018, in order to describe their values. The value assessments will be based on the exterior of the buildings, which means that inspections will not include visits to stairwells and apartments.

The 15 value assessments will be completed by May 2019. An assessment of the areas will then be sent to the relevant housing organisations and municipalities.