Grøndalsvænge
Copenhagen, Denmark
One of the first garden cities in Denmark is today still owned by an association.
| Garden City Type: | Mixed (housing association / municipality / other) |
| Country: | Denmark |
| City: | Copenhagen |
| Years of construction: |
1915 Start construction 1928 Completion
|
| Initiator/client: | Haveboligforeningen Grøndalsvænge |
| Architect or related: |
Poul Holsøe Poul Fiedler Holsøe (1873-1966) was a Danish architect, city architect and council member of Copenhagen. Poul Holsøe on Wikipedia ([in Danish] Jesper Tvede Jens Peter Tvede (1879-1934) was a Danish architect. Jesper Tvede on Wikipedia [in Danish] |
| Heritage status: | No |
| General condition of Garden City: | Good condition |
General description
The Haveboligforeningen Grøndalsvænge – the garden housing association Grøndalsvænge – was established in 1911 by the journalists Jens Tornum and H. Lundbeck, who were employees at the newspaper Socialdemokraten. The aim of the association was to build affordable, healthy and beautiful houses for working-class families.
The association bought an area from the city of Copenhagen on the north side of Grøndalåen, after which the settlement took its name. Grøndalsvænge consists of 390 houses, which were built in four sections between 1914 and 1928. While many Danish garden cities were sold off to private ownership during the 1920s and 30s, Grøndalsvænge is a notably exception: it has stayed a cooperative to the present day.
Architecture / Urban planning
The architects, Poul Holsøe and Jesper Tvede, advocated small houses, “houses that workers and officers can live in ... ordinary, regular houses, as we recognize from the countryside ... like our parents’ homes. We cannot build beautiful villas with towers and spikes and expensive decorations – no, we want even houses with distinct lines, fitting well into the Danish landscape.”
The houses of Grøndalsvænge are partly single houses, and partly semi-houses. They are built in red brick, with roofs of red wing stones, bays and white fences. Grøndalsvænge was built according to a total plan, with continuous road network, characterised by slightly curved roads winding through the neighbourhood.
The area was laid out with greens, pathways and winding roads. Exemptions were sought from the by-laws to lay out narrow roads and footpaths. At the intersection of Vindingj, Æblevej and Vindruevej, a large commercial property was built that also housed the association.
Sources
- Website URL
Know Copenhagen: Grøndalsvænge [in Danish]
- Publication
Helle Ravn & Peter Dragsbo, 'Garden Cities in Denmark & Europe'. In: Garden City Perspectives 5 (International Garden Cities Institute, 2019).
