Student Village is a transformation and extension of Søgaarden, a traditional half-timbered farm from the 17th century just outside of central Aarhus. Søgaarden once served as a cattle farm but lost its original function when it was absorbed by the growing city, leaving Søgaarden as an oasis of rural idyll nestled between highways and malls – a small village encircled by an ever-expanding cityscape.

The original character of Søgaarden is maintained and around it seven new housing units are built. They stand as contemporary interpretations of the original farm and draw references to it both by virtue of their shape, materiality, and construction. Between the buildings a network of streets, passages, and courtyards create an intimate and social space where new and old appear side by side. Altogether, Student Village consists of 11 buildings of varying size containing 56 studio apartments, communal facilities, as well as adjoining outdoor areas.

Each apartment has an open façade facing the surrounding landscape and a more closed façade facing the public spheres. Thus, each resident has direct connection to the natural scenery on one side while on the other side having easy access to the community unfolding within the streets, squares, and the communal space centrally located in the old barn. Søgaarden is – archetypal of a Danish half-timbered farmhouse – characterized by robustness in both materiality and construction. The architectural concept of both the transformation as well as the construction of the new buildings is based on Søgaarden’s inherent qualities, meaning that all technical and structural challenges are solved by a rational approach and simple principles

Søgaarden has been re-insulated, new roofs have been laid, the half-timbering has been gently restored, and new foundations have been established. Great emphasis is put on an honest transformation where Søgaarden’s native character is accentuated in an architectural interplay with the new elements.

The old farmhouse has been covered with a new thatched roof, while the buildings once functioning as shelter and livestock barn are clad with Aluzinc panels, creating a bridge between the old and the new buildings, which are clad correspondingly. The walls of the existing buildings are lined with plywood and gypsum panels. Steel-framed windows make up the re-insulation in front of the original windows exposing them as well as the adjacent masonry as a testimony to the pastoral past of Søgaarden.

The extensions are built as modern module houses of lightweight wooden elements, which is reflected in both the façade and the interior. The construction is braced by steel wet room cores, which are prefabricated elements cast into the foundation. The façades are clad with heat-treated pine in sharp-cut timber and profiled cladding boards. No surface treatment has been applied to the exterior wood making it patinate naturally. Doors and windows are made of pine which is matt lacquered on the inside and clad with raw aluminum on the outside.

Student Village connects new with old and rural with urban in a progressive contribution to a diverse cultural heritage. Thus, Søgaarden is revitalised within a changing context, and together with the extensions it makes Student Village a contemporary space with a tradition-bound consciousness.