Koggens Gränd Apartments

Acting as client as well as architects, the Koggens Gränd 31-unit apartment scheme was an opportunity to spur progress in the Swedish housing market, as well as to push the boundaries of residential design. Each home is unique and endlessly customisable.

Empowering choice

Malmö’s Västra Hamnen district, or West Harbour, was the perfect testbed for the Koggens Gränd residential development. This previous expanse of decaying shipyards became one of Europe’s first neighbourhoods to reinvent itself through sustainability-led regeneration. Koggens Gränd is a testament to how sustainable thinking and design innovation can ensure a long-term commercial viability. Buying an apartment in Sweden used to mean purchasing a shareholding in the building. By analysing market needs and buyer sentiment, it was discovered that options for stable, long-term, customisable home ownership were few. Koggens Gränd was conceived as purpose built owner-occupier apartments, introducing a new form of tenure and choice to the city’s housing stock.

Client: White Arkitekter
Location: Malmö, Sweden
Status: Completed 2012
Area: units 44–123 sqm
Cost: approx. 115 million SEK
Energy Use: around 40 kWh/m²/year
Environmental certification: Miljöbyggnad Guld
Visuals: Peter Brinch, Felix Gerlach

Working as both developers and architects presented an unrivalled opportunity to experiment with new architectural solutions and financial models.

Customisable spaces

Koggens Gränd is part of the Fullriggaren district, sitting on a south-facing site with an adjacent park. Each apartment is unique, due to the adoption of an unconventional design language where small villas stacked on top of each other. A distinct framework of white concrete defines each apartment, where varying storey heights give each one a unique exterior within a coherent whole. The apartment layouts offer full flexibility, the bathrooms being the only fixed element; owners can alter plan arrangements and even create mezzanine levels within some of the apartments. Large balconies in the form of French windows allow for maximum levels of daylight.

The apartments are spacious with internal ceilings between 2.7 and 4.4 metres high. The careful choice and use of materials give a warmth and detail to the façade. Balcony ceilings and façades are clad in untreated Siberian larch that weathered over time, while other façades are fair-faced white concrete. Filigree metal screens, profiled concrete surfaces and timber panelling further enrich the textured façades. The steel gates in different patterns, created by using parametric design, is one of many carefully thought-out details of the building.

“The creative freedom allowed by being both architect and developer allowed for a high level of design experimentation and innovation in sustainability. This approach not only produced healthy, happy, and beautiful homes to live in, but also secured the long-term commercial viability of the scheme.”

Putting research into action

It was essential for Koggens Gränd to cope with the Öresund region’s coastal climate, while facilitating low running costs minimal upkeep for homeowners. The scheme allowed for the testing and implementation of new concepts, energy systems and construction technologies that were drawn from White Research Lab’s experimentation in a bid to elevate existing industry standards in residential design. A multifaceted sustainability approach helped the scheme to achieve a Miljöbyggnad Guld standard, with energy consumption 40 kWh/m²/year.

Solar panels connect to the district heating grid through a solar cell bank, while wind turbines installed on top of the multistorey carpark, carpools and shared bicycle parking, all contribute to renewable on-site energy production. Koggens Gränd is also home to the largest biogas-generating development in Sweden; organic waste is collected by waste grinders, while separate pipe networks and collection tanks facilitate biogas production. Damp-proof construction, ventilation, open surface water collection system, pergola, green walls, leafy courtyard and a planted roof terrace, complete with bird boxes and bug hotels, all make Koggens Gränd a healthy and pleasant place to live.