A model for the future
The History
The idea of an innovative housing project began to take shape in the mid-1980s. At Bo86, a housing fair in Malmö, a variety of ideas were presented on how future homes would be designed, function, and constructed.
MKB, or Malmö Municipal Housing Company as it was called at the time, had begun to recover from the paralysis that had characterized the company for a long time, as they had a large number of empty apartments without any ideas on how to rent them out. The company was well-known and its 20,000 apartments, of which about 1,500 were vacant, were located in residential areas where no one wanted to move.
Many believed that it was not only due to the lack of job opportunities in Malmö, but also because people wanted to live in personally designed homes where they could influence the design.
The Tenant Association also participated in discussions about new ideas in housing construction, as they had not achieved much influence for their members in existing residential areas or in the new construction that was being built at the time.
There were two other important actors in the context: a builder who was not only interested in making money on housing construction but also had social ambitions to create a good living environment, and an architect - a "social engineer" at the Malmö City Planning Office - who worked with as much social as professional commitment.
Architect Ivo Waldhör played a crucial role in the construction project that would be built on a demolition site and parking lot on Monbijougatan 4.
These actors gathered around an idea that initially got the name BO100, perhaps because someone said that the idea was "one hundred" or because they planned to build a house with one hundred apartments.
The tenants themselves would participate in planning and designing their own apartments.
The Process
Now the exciting journey begins. The year was 1987 and a thousand people from the municipal housing queue were given a unique opportunity to shape their dream home through a special housing project. Only two hundred people took up the offer, but sixty of them chose to participate in an initial meeting where it became clear that it required commitment and a willingness to participate in a planning process that would take time, rather than money.
After the first discussions with architects, just over thirty people decided to invest time and love in their future home. Their task was to bring together the wishes and ideas of the 39 people who had different dreams and visions of how they wanted to live, within a framework for what each was willing to pay for their home and what standard they desired.
The architects had a challenge to reconcile the different wishes, but with the help of model building it became less complicated. The participants learned about house building and housing through the Boskolan where experts in kitchens and bathrooms shared their knowledge and the architects talked about the need to consider their future neighbors when planning.
The models were helpful both for visualizing their own dream home and for seeing how it fit in with the dreams of other participants. For example, everyone wanted to live on the top floor of the building.
But in the midst of the planning process, it was realized that the space would not be enough, so an application was made to the municipality to extend the building permit to raise the building and increase the space. Participants dropped out from time to time, while new interests emerged.
In September 1988, everyone was invited on a tour in a construction lift to see approximately where their apartment would be located. It was then also clear that there were other apartments that could fit better than the ones on the top floor.
The Construction
When the year 1989 begins, everyone has been assigned their apartment in the building and all the outer and inner frames for the apartments have been established. Boskolan focuses more on the planning of individual apartments - kitchen, bathroom, windows, doors, and room layout.
After that, one can apply for a building permit and on October 5th, the shovel is put in the ground. The shovel has five handles - a representative for the tenants, MKB, the builder HNB, the city of Malmö, and the involved architects each hold a handle when the ground is broken.
Discussions about rent and standard then take off and the creative process may stall for a moment. For example, it becomes too expensive with so many different types of windows that were desired, so in the end they are cut down to 40 different window shapes that are distributed among the building's total of 323 windows. One or two prospective tenants feel that it doesn't match the promises of total freedom to plan as one wants, but at the same time, someone has to pay.
With such details sorted out, construction begins in December 1989. Many tenants follow the exciting building process, both the overall picture and their own apartment. Legal and a few "illegal" visits to the construction site and unofficial photography document the building step by step.
The building's exterior, shape, and color of the facade, entrances, and window colors, where tenants have only been advisory to chief architect Iwo Waldhör, are only revealed when the tarps are removed days before the inauguration on May 16th. The "revelation" attracts attention throughout the country. The different and colorful facade with three shades of red-gray plaster and window frames in many colors transforms the somewhat obscure "process" into one of the country's most famous and talked-about housing projects.
At the end of May and beginning of June 1991, tenants move in, some almost four years after they were selected to be part of the BO100 project.
The Tenant Association, i.e., the management and administration of the building, cleaning, repairs, and everything that comes with it, is another story. The forms for this had been discussed for a long time, but at the move-in, everyone agreed to try to manage the building themselves as a housing association.
BO100 today
MKB is the owner of the grand residential building, but the management is transferred to the residents themselves who organize in a housing association. Through this system, the residents can be involved in decisions concerning management, rental, cleaning, gardening, and other daily tasks necessary to keep the building in top condition.
The high quality of management is a result of the residents' own efforts and cooperation. Because they take care of everything themselves, housing becomes considerably cheaper, and they also avoid paying extra fees for services performed by others. This results in greater security for the residents and a better community among them.
BO100 is a unique project that functions in many ways like a housing cooperative, but still in a different way. For example, it is not possible to buy into the house, and they strive for a mixed composition of tenants. In this way, a dynamic environment is created where people from different backgrounds and cultural traditions can live together and learn from each other.
One of the great advantages of organizing management in this way is that it saves some of the costs that would normally go towards hiring staff to take care of stair cleaning and gardening. By doing this together, a stronger community and greater commitment among the residents can also be created. They help each other by offering food and organizing study activities and other activities that allow them to get to know each other and create a more harmonious and solidarity-based community.
For the residents of BO100, it is important to have control over decisions concerning the management of the building, as it affects their housing and quality of life. Therefore, it is natural that they themselves control the decision-making process, budget, and administration. This also makes the residents feel more involved and engaged in their housing, which in turn leads to more responsibility for the maintenance of the building and a greater enjoyment of their home.