Brumleby
Encyclopedia
Brumleby is an enclave of terraced house
s in Copenhagen
, Denmark
, located between Østre Allé and Østerbrogade
, just south of Parken Stadium
and St. James' Church. Built for indigent workers by the Danish Medical Association
from 1854 to 1872, it is one of the earliest examples of social housing in Denmark and became a model for later projects.
The development was designed by Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll
and Vilhelm Klein in Neoclassical style
.
and lack of proper sanitary services. Copenhagen's population had almost doubled since 1800 but the city had still not been allowed to expand beyond its old fortification ring
.
decided to take action and acquired a piece of land on the Eastern Commons and after raising funds privately commissioned the prominent architect Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll
to design the houses. Construction began in 1854 and the first stage of the development, with 240 apartments, was inaugurated in 1857.
Due to the intervention of the Second Schleswig War, the second stage did not begin until 1866. After Bindesbøll's death in 1856, he was replaced by Vilhelm Klein, one of his employees. By the time the second stage was completed in 1872, Brumleby had 550 apartments which housed approgimately 2,500 inhabitants.
, but these were later demolished. Over the years there were also numerous proposals to demolish Brumleby and replace it with more dense housing but in 1959 the area was listed.
s. The suffix -by simply means town or area.
The apartments were no larger than those inside the city, just 25 sqm, often for families with many children, but their planning set new standards with its spacious layout, abundant light and fresh air as well as integration of common facilities such as wash houses, co-operative shops, a bath house, workshops and shared spaces.
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
s in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, located between Østre Allé and Østerbrogade
Østerbrogade
Østerbrogade is the principal shopping street and thoroughfare in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends from Lille Trianglen at the north-eastern tip of The Lakes, passes Trianglen, and continues to Svanemøllen station from where it becomes Strandvejen.-History:Østerbrogade...
, just south of Parken Stadium
Parken Stadium
Parken Stadium is a football stadium in the Indre Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark, built from 1990–1992. It currently has a capacity of 38,065 for football games, and is the home ground of F.C. Københaven and the Danish national football team...
and St. James' Church. Built for indigent workers by the Danish Medical Association
Danish Medical Association
The Danish Medical Association is a trade union in Denmark. It has a membership of 21,800, and is affiliated with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations....
from 1854 to 1872, it is one of the earliest examples of social housing in Denmark and became a model for later projects.
The development was designed by Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll
Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll
Michael Gottlieb Birckner Bindesbøll was a Danish architect active during the Danish Golden Age in the first half of the 19th century. Most known for his design of Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen, he was a key figure in the stylistic shift in Danish architecture from late classicism to Historicism...
and Vilhelm Klein in Neoclassical style
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
.
Background
The idea of providing cheap and healthy homes for the poorest part of the city's work force originated among local politicians and medical doctors during the 1853 Copenhagen cholera outbreak which killed approximately 5,000 citizens. A major reason for the outbreak was the dismal conditions in the poorest parts of the city which suffered from overpopulationOverpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
and lack of proper sanitary services. Copenhagen's population had almost doubled since 1800 but the city had still not been allowed to expand beyond its old fortification ring
Fortifications of Copenhagen (17th century)
The fortifications of Copenhagen underwent a comprehensive modernization and expansion in the 17th century. The project was commenced and largely masterplanned by Christian IV in the early 17th century but continued and completed by his successors...
.
Construction phase
The Danish Medical AssociationDanish Medical Association
The Danish Medical Association is a trade union in Denmark. It has a membership of 21,800, and is affiliated with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations....
decided to take action and acquired a piece of land on the Eastern Commons and after raising funds privately commissioned the prominent architect Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll
Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll
Michael Gottlieb Birckner Bindesbøll was a Danish architect active during the Danish Golden Age in the first half of the 19th century. Most known for his design of Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen, he was a key figure in the stylistic shift in Danish architecture from late classicism to Historicism...
to design the houses. Construction began in 1854 and the first stage of the development, with 240 apartments, was inaugurated in 1857.
Due to the intervention of the Second Schleswig War, the second stage did not begin until 1866. After Bindesbøll's death in 1856, he was replaced by Vilhelm Klein, one of his employees. By the time the second stage was completed in 1872, Brumleby had 550 apartments which housed approgimately 2,500 inhabitants.
Later history
In 1878, still with Klein as the architect, the Medical Association continued its construction of apartments for workers at another site further from the city, next to the Eastern GasworksGasværket
Østre Gasværk Teater is a theatre in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark, located in an abandoned gasometer of the former Øster Gasværk . The theatre is constructed within the masonry shell that used to house the gas holder proper...
, but these were later demolished. Over the years there were also numerous proposals to demolish Brumleby and replace it with more dense housing but in 1959 the area was listed.
The name
The area was not originally known as Brumleby, but simply as Lægeforeningens Boliger (English: The Medical Association's Residences, but the name emerged coloquially towards the end of the 19th century and obtained official status in 1984. The prefix Brumle-, in the beginning also seen as Brumme-, most likely was a reference to the sound from the grazing cattle on the surrounding commonCommon land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
s. The suffix -by simply means town or area.
Architecture
Brumleby consists of four rows of two-storey houses with bicoloured facades, ochre coloured ground floors and white first floors, and slate roofs. The inspiration for the design came from Italian agricultural workers' housing which Bindesbøll had seen during his years in Italy.The apartments were no larger than those inside the city, just 25 sqm, often for families with many children, but their planning set new standards with its spacious layout, abundant light and fresh air as well as integration of common facilities such as wash houses, co-operative shops, a bath house, workshops and shared spaces.
Brumleby today
Brumleby still serves as social housing, part of Københavns Almindelige Boligselskab. Today, after mergers during a major renovation in the 1990s, the number of apartments has been reduced to 221. The renovation also fitted the apartments with private bathrooms and toilets, before that these facilities were shared.Cultural references
The writer Martin Andersen Nexo lived in the area as a child, from 1872 to 1877, and has portrayed it in the 1952 childhood memoires Et Lille Kræ.See also
- Danish Workers' Building SocietyArbejdernes ByggeforeningArbejdernes Byggeforening was a Danish building society founded in Copenhagen in 1865 to provide healthy homes for the city's workers, especially those from the Burmeister & Wain factory...
- Architecture of DenmarkArchitecture of DenmarkThe architecture of Denmark has its origins in the Viking period, richly revealed by archaeological finds. It became firmly established in the Middle Ages when first Romanesque, then Gothic churches and cathedrals sprang up throughout the country...