Every last joint is sustainable

A completely sustainable neighbourhood is being built in Copenhagen, Denmark. The bricks used in the façades also had to meet this requirement.

Copenhagen’s new neighbourhood is environmentally certified

The “Bellakvarter” in Copenhagen is built in full awareness of the growth of the world population and the continuous flow of population into cities. The new urban development zone aims to become a flagship project for sustainability, and it was granted DGNB Gold Standard environmental certification in advance of its construction. Accordingly, all buildings and the materials used in them must meet the highest environmental requirements. At the same time, the residential buildings of the new neighbourhood must conform to Nordic building methods and aesthetics: The development plan stipulates a brick building in earth tones.

Brick: EW0450 Jern - EW0449 Kul - EW0447 Flint | Bellakvarteret, Denmark — © Egernsund Wienerberger A/S

Modern façade

The Danish architectural firm “Urban Agency” took full advantage of this colour palette in two of its projects in “Bellakvarter”, choosing bricks in shades of grey and black for Strunges Hus and Bella 3N: “Each of the buildings stands out as unique with its own individual design, which makes it easier to get one’s bearings in the city,” says the architect Thomas Walcher, explaining the colour scheme. The façade of Strunges Hus is light beige and an intense medium grey. Here they used the sustainable LESS brick in two different shades. LESS brick in “flint”, a light beige, is used for the flat surfaces, while the darker shade “iron” is laid around the window openings. Lighter-coloured mortar connects the two shades so that the façade has a single consistent look.

Bella 3N, in contrast, features intense black brickwork: The LESS brick in the colour “coal” creates an impressive, extended plinth area around the building. Two different colours of mortar provide structure to the façade by hinting at the borders between different floors and separating the ground floor area with shops from the upper floors with offices and flats.

Brick - EW0450 Jern EW0449 Kul EW0447 Flint - Bellakvarteret — © Egernsund Wienerberger A/S | Urban Agency | Bellakvarter Projektselskab A/S

Sustainable concept

LESS brick belongs to a line of eco-friendly bricks that were fired with biogas, and requires 10 % less raw material. This made it possible to reduce CO2 emissions in production by up to 80 %.

“The bricks play an important part in the design of the façades of the buildings, where we have worked with classic brickwork details and different colours of mortar,” explain the architects. The bricks met the architects’ aesthetic criteria, as well as their sustainability requirements, without going over budget.

Thomas Walcher explains: “We selected sustainable bricks that are also a high-quality product that matches our budget.”