The Albertslund South neighbourhod

Facts

One of the '60s greatest hits

By Vibeke Andersson Møller (16 stories)

The Albertslund South neighbourhood was built between 1963 and 1968 by the architects Fællestegnestuen and became one of the decade’s greatest housing hits. Housing in the development is centred on the canal running through it. The main road follows the canal and is overlooked by three-storey housing blocks. Extending out from both sides of this main thoroughfare are developments of either one-storey atrium houses or two-storey terraced housing. A 1961 government directive mandated that the buildings were to be constructed of concrete modules. The area is peppered with childcare facilities, and a shopping centre was built at one end, close to the commuter rail station. Car and foot traffic were completely separated, as leading 1960s thinking dictated.

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Low-rise success

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Story written by Vibeke Andersson Møller

Time / Periode 1968

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The capital's guiding development strategy, created in 1947, was called the Finger Plan and took its name from the hand-shaped pattern of development it established. Copenhagen was at the palm, and development was to radiate out along five corridors that followed commuter rail lines and motorways, while wedges of greenspace were to fill in the space between the fingers. Officials in Herstederne Municipality predicted that the new S-Train commuter rail service would bring with it enormous population growth. To meet its projected housing needs it built an entirely new neighbourhood of high-quality buildings. Instead of building the same high-rises that were shooting up across the country, it was decided to concentrate on low-rise development in Albertslund South. Doing so was seen as a way to ensure that families were happy to live there. The most noticeable characteristic of the neighbourhood is its single-storey atrium houses, which, instead of having its primary exposure towards the front, features large rear windows that look out over a fenced in garden. The simple, almost anonymous, white facades were inspired by kasbahs.