Hedeskov Living Lab
Arriving at Hedeskov, you encounter The Center, a former school building that has been extensively transformed into a Living Lab and the central building complex at Hedeskov.
The Center offers co-working, event and exhibition space, as well as a residency, and draws on Hedeskov’s long history of nature restoration and regeneration.
It has been renovated via a pioneering low-carbon approach that combines contemporary materials science, traditional building crafts, and ecology. The goal is a visibly evident harmony between the environment and the structures we inhabit.
Arriving at Hedeskov, you encounter The Center, a former school building that has been extensively transformed into a Living Lab and the central building complex at Hedeskov.
The Center offers co-working, event and exhibition space, as well as a residency, and draws on Hedeskov’s long history of nature restoration and regeneration.
It has been renovated via a pioneering low-carbon approach that combines contemporary materials science, traditional building crafts, and ecology. The goal is a visibly evident harmony between the environment and the structures we inhabit.
Arriving at Hedeskov, you encounter The Center, a former school building that has been extensively transformed into a Living Lab and the central building complex at Hedeskov.
The Center offers co-working, event and exhibition space, as well as a residency, and draws on Hedeskov’s long history of nature restoration and regeneration.
It has been renovated via a pioneering low-carbon approach that combines contemporary materials science, traditional building crafts, and ecology. The goal is a visibly evident harmony between the environment and the structures we inhabit.
The existing buildings had already stood for nearly 120 years and provided the starting point for the restoration.
Building parts that were not conserved in place will be reused elsewhere onsite. Additionally, bio- and geo-based materials were harvested from the surrounding landscape.
This was made possible by the extensive site audits carried out by Local Works Studio (UK), who mapped viable plant-based and mineral materials, such as bullrush fibers, various sands, and moraine clays, which make up the internal clay-plaster and clay-flooring.
Sites for clay extraction have been identified as areas that would benefit from habitat restoration and biodiversity projects, improving the surrounding ecological health. The performance of the clay materials, as well as the development of the harvest sites, are being monitored and will form part of the knowledge sharing.
"We need a new materials culture, one that rejects the hidden systems of unnecessary production and obscene waste, a culture where traces of use, decay and repair are celebrated and the act of making good becomes the pivotal role between humans and their resources, where consumption is exchanged for symbiosis"
– Djernes & Bell
The transformation of The Center is a collaborative effort supported by partners, including architects Djernes & Bell, BUILD AAU, and Local Works Studio.
Throughout the renovation, we have gathered and will continue to collect extensive technical and anthropological data. This documentation will be shared widely to enhance understanding and showcase the impact of regenerative construction.
The project has been recognized and supported by the philanthropic association Realdania, with a generous research and renovation grant of 5 million DKK.
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Visits are welcome by appointment
Visits are welcome by appointment
Visits are welcome by appointment
