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"Transforming staircases into elevators in Danish private cooperative housing"

Elevators instead of narrow back staircases have made the way up to the apartments and the rooftop terrace a breeze for shareholders in a private cooperative housing association in Copenhagen, Denmark.

By Jan Klint Poulsen, ABF / Photo: Jacob Nielsen, ABF 
February 6, 2025

It all started with an advertisement in a magazine. It was board member and treasurer in the cooperative housing association, Hans Jørgen Thomsen's stepdaughter who first came up with the idea. She had seen that elevators could be installed instead of the old kitchen stairs. And since the cooperative housing association was already planning to install balconies, why not also improve accessibility in the building? 71-year-old Hans Jørgen Thomsen was immediately keen to pursue the idea.

Today, the three old kitchen stairs have been transformed into modern elevators that can quickly transport shareholders from the courtyard to the top apartments on the fourth floor in less than a quarter of a minute without breathlessness and stops along the way.

  • Daily life has become much easier for young families after installing elevators in the building.
    Daily life has become much easier for young families after installing elevators in the building.
  • 28-year old Sofie is pregnant with her second child and uses the elevator every day.
    28-year old Sofie is pregnant with her second child and uses the elevator every day.
  • 71-year-old Hans Joergen can easily bring his groceries all the way up to the third floor, where he lives.
    71-year-old Hans Joergen can easily bring his groceries all the way up to the third floor, where he lives.
  • The elevators are part of an old building from 1897 - from the architectural period of historicism. T
    The elevators are part of an old building from 1897 - from the architectural period of historicism.
  • Software shows energy-emission on a daily basis, a sustainable approach in the Danish cooperative housing association.
    Software shows energy-emission on a daily basis, a sustainable approach in the Danish cooperative housing association.
  • The top-end of the building leading to the shared rooftop-terrace - easily accessible to elderly and people with disabilities.
    The top-end of the building leading to the shared rooftop-terrace - easily accessible to elderly and people with disabilities.

A large majority voted in favor
It has become easy for the approximately 60 residents who now enjoy the buildings major outdoor attraction – the rooftop terrace, which was established in 2005 and is located on the sixth floor.

With a fantastic view over the city's rooftops, shareholders meet for outdoor coziness and dining around the 149 m² terrace, which is furnished with small cozy corners, a communal grill, a sink, and a refrigerator.

− It has made everyday life much easier for all of us that the elevators have been established. Whether you need to bring groceries or a stroller with a sleeping child up to the height, everything has become much easier, says Hans Jørgen Thomsen.

As a board member, he has overseen the entire construction process from start to finish together with the association's advisor and the elevator company Botved.

The process of new balconies and elevators began in 2015 with a general meeting decision (one shareholder, one vote) and building applications to the municipality.

The work on both elevators and balconies began in 2018 and was finally completed in 2020.

Hans Jørgen Thomsen says that more than 2/3 of the shareholders voted in favor when the elevator project was presented at the general meeting.

Much easier in everyday life
Sofie Birkkjær Vingborg is one of the many shareholders who greatly benefit from the new elevators.

She has lived in one of the basement apartments and knows the climb up the stairs to the sixth floor all too well.

The construction has been made in respect of the original architeture from 1897.

Now she has moved to the fourth floor with her boyfriend, and since then, a two-year-old daughter has arrived, and soon the family welcomes a new baby. Therefore, she uses the elevator in the courtyard daily when bags, a stroller, toys, a child, and shopping bags need to be transported up to the apartment.

− It has clearly become easier since we got the elevator. We use it a lot every day. I don't think we could stay on the fourth floor with a small child whose legs get tired on the way up the stairs and a new baby on the way if we had to go up the stairs several times a day, explains Sofie Birkkjær Vingborg.

The price for the entire elevator project ended up at DKK 7.5 million. (approximately 1 million euros) The project is financed as a mortgage loan, and for the individual shareholder, the new elevators have meant an increase in the housing fee of DKK 6 per m². (less than one euro)

In connection with the establishment of the three elevators, the cooperative housing association had to ensure two emergency exits from the rooftop terrace to comply with the law. Therefore, two stair towers have been built in extension of the main stairs with sprinkler systems and fire doors. In the courtyard, two new basement entrances have also been dug because the elevators do not go further down than the courtyard level.

Inspiration for other associations
The news about the small cooperative housing association in inner Copenhagen, which has installed elevators in the backyard, has not gone unnoticed. Hans Jørgen Thomsen has had several tours where curious board delegations from outside have come to get inspiration.

− I would guess that I have shown five or six groups around, so the interest is there, and most of them can easily see the advantages – both in terms of increased accessibility when you need to go up in height, but also if you have a communal rooftop terrace.

Published in the member magazine ABFnyt, in January 2025.
The magazine is published in 107,000 copies.

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