we architecture: farum

‘farum’ by we architecture, farum, denmark all images courtesy of we architecture

‘farum’ by danish firm we architecture is an urban planning competition proposal for farum, denmark, a suburb located approximately 20 kilometers from copenhagen’s city center. the locale’s fragmented development pattern is the definition of the highly criticized ideal of suburbia, divided by large roads and interspersed with eclectic structures from the 70s and 80s. aiming to improve the evolution and success of ‘suburbs of the future’, the design maintains the established character of the town while injected the benefits of density found in urbanized areas. sectioned off with streets, the generated islands form a personal atmosphere with plazas and green spaces.

focused in bybækgunden, this model introduces a building typology within a flexible 40 by 40 meter grid, integrating multiple functions within 6-story structures. the arrangement creates large squares and pockets in close relation to residences and commercial resulting with a harmonious variety of suburban and urban elements.

tree lined boulevard through site

pedestrian street

pedestrian streets

green area

apartment block

site plan

site plan

green areas

(left) arrival (center) new & exiting development (right) identity islands diagrams

the finger plan 1940

two sides of farum

the 40 x 40 grid evolves from a set of values which are defined by the needs of all parts involved

development diagram

project info:

name: farum assignment: invited competition type: urban planning client: realdania & furesø municipality size: 96 ha place: farum, denmark year: 2012 team: marc jay, julie schmidt-nielsen, nora fossum, kristian hindsberg, casper berntsen, steffen ommundsen, mikkel friberg, tom benjamin hobbs, justin cua & karen shiue collaborators: jwh arkitekter, preben skaarup landskabsarkitekter, niras, gitte marling