At Brunnshög there is competition in sustainable construction
Since municipalities cannot require buildings to have special technical characteristics in land surveys, it is common practice to make directions through a competition instead. In this way, Lund Municipality can sell land in Lund's new Brunnhög district to construction companies that can offer high sustainability in their buildings. Conducting competitions is nothing unique to Lund — but at Brunnshög this is being done to a large extent at the moment by the political decision to make all land referrals via competitions in sustainability.
In this way, the municipality has managed to create an area where construction operators use sustainable innovations, where most of the properties have solar electricity production and are connected to the low-temperature district heating network and where residents have access to a car pool and their own cultivation near the property.
Why have you chosen to work this way at Brunnshög?
- There are two main reasons for this, says Ib Rosvall. Firstly, the land on Brunnshög is largely owned by the municipality. Through competitions, we can ensure that the potential of the land is exploited in the best possible way — partly through innovative construction projects and partly by ensuring that the inhabitants of the groves are paid as well as possible for their land. Secondly, we as a municipality alone cannot create a neighborhood at the forefront. By allowing construction actors to compete for land, we can spur each other on — and together create an environment you want to be in.
In the June 2022 land award competition, the focus was on climate neutrality and high-quality architecture. It can also be about being carbon neutral, including sustainable innovations or having a specific focus, for example on water.
- We are constantly changing our competition arrangements — there is no special “Brunnshögsskrift”. To choose which criteria to use, we follow the subject with our ear to the ground and take what is big at the moment. We also think about how we, through Brunnshög, contribute to the construction of the future. Most recently, it was climate-neutral buildings, which also include various measures to get more people into the housing market and to create a social community in the homes. Water management and the challenges that come with climate change are also big at the moment. For construction operators, cultivation is a matter of course, and what they want to do also plays into the result.
How have construction operators reacted to the innovation competition?
- We think they are positive about this way of working and that it is desirable to build on Brunnshög, says Ib Rosvall. Obviously it's bigger work than it is with direct directions but we see it spurring the market. The only way to build here is to take the sustainability issue seriously and help create a belief in the future.
The competitions are widely advertised and entries are often submitted via Lund Municipality's e-service, where it should be easy to describe what you want to do. At the end of the process, a winner is appointed by a five-member jury, including three external. When construction operators have received a land order, a sustainability agreement is written. The Brunnshögs project also shows what the municipality is doing in this area to give credibility. The area includes, for example, the tramway, the world's first low-temperature district heating system, Sweden's largest garbage extraction system with four types of materials, advanced stormwater management and the municipal real estate company LKF:S residential building Xplorion. Xplorion is LKF's A pioneering project in sustainable construction.
Well pile should be ready by 2055. Right now the area is planned up to the central parts and a little under half of that area is land allocated.
- You could say that we have taken a first step. The whole area is not yet planned in detail, but you should be able to follow the demands of the times. 2055 is a long way ahead — you go just as far back as the million dollar program of the seventies. It gives a perspective on why you should plan piece by piece.
Has this way of selling to the one who offers the highest sustainability been important for the design of the area?
Oh, absolutely! We have a detailed plan with neighborhood zoning and perhaps a desire for special materials in the facades, but beyond that, the contents of the buildings are greatly influenced by the procedure. From a Swedish perspective, Skåne is at the forefront of climate-neutral construction and it will be exciting to see what can be achieved. This way of working requires both a lot of time and commitment, but it is clearly worth it,” concludes Ib Rosvall.
This is how sustainability looks at Brunnshög
92% of properties have access to solar energy
88% of properties have carpool membership included in their rent
96% of the properties give residents the opportunity to cultivate
95% of the buildings have low-temperature district heating, which consists of excess heat from ESS and MAX IV (does not apply to some parts of southern Brunnshög where this is not offered)
48% of properties offer a bike pool (many also offer electric and box bikes)
In the area there is what is Sweden's first green building with wood in the facade. The building is a collaboration between Wästhus project development and Launch real estate.
There are two car-free apartment buildings in southern Brunnshög. It is LKF's Xplorion and Granitore BRF Life which has no parking spaces attached to the houses and where residents instead have access to a well-developed vehicle pool.
(Facts from Brunnshögsprojekt June 2022)
This is the third part of our series on sustainable construction at Brunnshög. Previous parts:
Residential building for water fans soon ready to move in
Car-free and comfortable at Brunnshög
Read more:
Continued high innovation ambition at Brunnshög www.futurebylund.se/post/collaboration-ger-hog-innovationsambition-pa-brunnshog
Innovation company had to pitch for Brunnshögsbyggare www.futurebylund.se/post/innovationsbolaget pock-pitcha-for-brunnshogsbyggare
Unique cooperation is expected to give Brunnshögsresidents a better accommodation www.futurebylund.se/post/unikt-collaboration-vantas-ge-brunnshogsborna-ett-battre-accommodatie
The big picture: At the beginning of the year, the municipality of Lund announced Brunnshög's largest land allocation competition ever: The Patent Quarter22. In the pot were two block building rights totalling about 22,500 sqm. The two blocks are adjacent to Västra Grönstraße and Brunnshögstorget The picture shows Ikano Bostads adjacent to the intersection of Odarslövsvägen and Patentgatan, Illustration: Wingårdhs Arkitekter, Unit Arkitekter and Sunnerö Arkitekter.