Summary
A renovation project of 700 multi-occupancy apartments built in the 1970s, owned by the Municipality housing company of Kristianstad, ABK. ABK had particular environmental and quality requirements for the project based on experience from its own construction and management.

Background
When the old dry lake east of the centre of Kristianstad was developed, it soon became home to a number of poor quality buildings. The concrete cracked, drainage was poor, and the damage caused by damp and leaks meant that the area eventually fell into disrepair. The buildings began to appear more and more dishevelled, causing all sorts of problems. At the start of the 1990s, the low-rise buildings were in such poor condition, that there was no choice but to pull them down or redevelop them.

Planners opted for the development option for a number of reasons. It would be slightly cheaper to redevelop, the area and pulling down and then rebuilding the buildings would also take longer and would mean that the tenants would have to move out for longer./p>

Implementation:
In the early stages, financed by LIP, all environmentally-friendly construction material was prioritised regardless of the maintenance work this required. In later stages the choice of materials was from a LCC perspective. Dangerous materials - for example asbestos, PCB etc - were replaced.

The whole project has a strong environmental profile and the changes have been far-reaching. On the environmental and energy front, the more important changes include additional insulation, the use of renewable energy and the installation of exhaust heating pumps. Environmental benefits have also been achieved through the use of district heating (produced from bio-fuels) instead of direct-acting heating, and the introduction of individual metering.

The redeveloped buildings have been made directly accessible for wheelchair users, allowing handicapped tenants to remain living in their own homes until later in life. A central complex is located at the heart of the area, comprising library, shops, swimming pool, nursery school and Österäng Church. The area also houses a primary and secondary school, upper secondary school and preschools.

Results:

• Glazed-in balconies stretching along the exteriors have given the flats new life and light. Glazed-in galleries with communal areas open up on the courtyards.
• Rooms looking out on the courtyards are now designed as living space rather than simply passages to and from residences.
• The environment has been enhanced with ponds and streams to resolve the earlier surface water problem.
• Stone circles, groups of seats and gardens have been installed to encourage life between the buildings, one of the objectives of the redevelopment.
• Each stage of the work generated new expertise which ABK, the letting agents, was able to use to make the next stage a bit different to the last.
• Solar collectors and solar panels have been installed on the roofs of the blocks
• Heat recovery
• Installation of broadband connections to all apartments.

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