Bagsværd Observation Home / JAJA Architects

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Text description provided by the architects. Originally built as a summer villa for the royal court dentist in the early 1900s, the Bagsværd Observation Home, located by the scenic Bagsværd Lake, serves children and families who need extra support during difficult times. The villa has undergone extensive renovation and expansion, blending historical charm with modern functionality to meet the needs of today’s families. Livsvaerk is the association behind the modernization and renovation of the Bagsværd Observation Home. The main aim of the project has been to make the physical setting of the site provide even better support for the social pedagogical work that the association performs for some of the most vulnerable in Danish society – vulnerable children and their families.

The Garden House. Designing the extension to the villa was challenging due to the desire for the extension to be twice the size of the historic villa. To create a functional extension while respecting the historic villa, we proposed establishing an equal relationship between the villa and the new garden house. From the landmark lakeside, the iconic villa remains the focal point, overlooking the prominent landscape. On the entrance side, the garden house is positioned to mark the entrance and main access point. The garden house features common living areas between the individual apartments, with balconies offering views of the garden and the nearby lake. Residents can access the garden directly from their living rooms.

Above the basement level, the Garden House is constructed as a lightweight structure with load-bearing structures primarily made of wood in a combination of CLT walls, CLT decks, glulam columns, and structural timber. Exposing the wood as much as possible, our vision has been to create a positive and welcoming building that the residents feel comfortable in. By minimising wind impact, the building’s rounded corners contribute to a comfortable microclimate in the living areas around the Garden House. This is achieved by cutting CLT elements into smaller faceted parts, which are then assembled to form round corners harmonising with the visible CLT walls inside. Externally, narrower cedar boards are used around the corners, giving a unified appearance all around the building.

Climate Responsibility. Serving as a test project for The Voluntary Sustainability Standard (Den Frivillige Bæredygtighedsklasse), the Bagsværd Observation Home project seeks to embrace both environmental, climate, social, and economic quality. The standard can be seen as a preview and a test of how future climate-oriented regulations of construction can be incorporated into future building regulations. Having a major impact on the CO2 footprint, we have been focusing on the Garden House’s materials. The use of wood, including all the CLT elements, helps us to get below 8 kg. CO2 equivalent per m2 per year, which are the requirements for the standard.