Tilbage til cases
A towering standard for strong communities
By Ida Borch, Head of Communications Evryone Group
With hotel-like communal facilities, The Clubhouse as the heart of the community, and a digital platform from Wicomico, Living by ALFA rethinks the serviced apartment community.
15 minutes outside the centre of Copenhagen, ALFA Development has built their first Living by ALFA site in Irmabyen in Rødovre. Around the Coffee Tower, where the supermarket chain was once headquartered, is what ALFA calls a neighbourhood born out of Irma's history and built on strong values of responsibility, respect for each other, community and quality.
Tenants at Living by ALFA should experience that their home rests on a similar foundation of security, community and service. The site was one of the first in Denmark to introduce hotel-like facilities, run by a dedicated community team that creates good conditions for community and activity between residents. In this context, the app helps to support the digital community.
This is the story of ALFA and Wicomico's collaboration to develop the app that connects residents digitally in Living by ALFA. Told in collaboration with Oliver Lorentz Larsen, Head of Living by ALFA.
The 163 Living by ALFA apartments in Irmabyen are home to a wide range of people. Young people at the start of their careers, expats, busy families with children, and finally, a significant proportion of residents over the age of 55 who have chosen to downsize – including some who now live alone.
The different demographic groups reflect ALFA's ambition to create a small urban community with a strong sense of community and a vibrant history. Each group has specific needs and preferences that technology can effectively fulfil. At the same time, they also have different prerequisites for adopting new technology. Therefore, it was essential to find a digital solution that was intuitive and easy to use for all residents, regardless of technical experience.
Today, tenants can find out what's going on in their property, book facilities and sign up for activities with the Living by ALFA app on their phones or tablets, or they can use the communal screen in The Clubhouse to search for the same content.
The Clubhouse is the multifunctional common area that serves as an extended living room for residents. Every detail has been thought of, from lounge areas with armchairs and long tables, large soft seats in the home cinema, children's playrooms, hotel-like guest rooms, and a petanque court in the atrium courtyard.
Designed by renowned designer Ulrik Wang, The Clubhouse facilities combine aesthetics and functionality. The community team is on hand to help with everything from practical tasks to coordinating social events.
"In Irmabyen, we see the app being used for the event calendar and notice board, for example. It's already popular with our residents and makes it easy for them to meet and organise social activities. In the long term, it would be exciting to add more personalised features, such as the ability to share more resources and facilities," explains Oliver Lorentz Larsen.
The app enables residents to coordinate their daily lives in a way that saves time and builds community. For example, residents can quickly organise spontaneous events such as communal dining or book guest rooms for overnight family members.
"The strength of the app is its ability to bring people closer together and build communities. This is a value that I think we will see even more of in the future, where social relationships and belonging will be more important than ever," says Oliver Lorentz Larsen.
There are already many examples of the app bringing people closer together. For example, there's the story of the elderly man who moved in after becoming a widower. The neighbours around him noticed that they hadn't seen him for a while. His meal boxes weren't being collected and they became worried. They used the app to communicate their concerns to each other and were relieved when it turned out he was 'just' on a cruise. When he returned, he was moved to tears by the care his neighbours had shown for his wellbeing.
Another story is about an elderly woman who, although she doesn't play petanque herself, always signs up for petanque events. She enjoys sitting on the bench in the garden and feels part of the community, and the petanque players enjoy watching her from the sidelines.
Finally, there are the many expats who live in Living by ALFA. They bring different traditions than the Danish residents. For example, the British biomedical engineer who moved to Denmark alone and regularly uses the app to invite the other residents to a spontaneous happy hour in The Clubhouse. It's as if he'd been back home in England and taken friends for a pint in a pub. Now it's organised via the Living by ALFA app and provides a cosy, informal hour in the afternoon during the weekday, which attracts both other expats and also some seniors who find it nice to have a drink with younger people.
Living by ALFA not only focuses on the well-being of residents, but also on sustainability. The app contributes now and in the future with data and features that promote a sharing economy and reduce resource consumption.
"Looking ahead, it's also interesting to think about how the platform can be adapted to our other locations. Each property has its own unique identity and resident group, and it's important that the app can reflect and support that. Wicomico's flexible approach allows us to accommodate local differences without compromising our overall vision and the feeling that it is a Living by ALFA property that people live in, regardless of location," explains Oliver Lorentz Larsen.
The Living by ALFA concept's facilities are designed to promote social interaction and communal activities to reduce the need for individual consumption while strengthening relationships between residents. "The platform also has great potential within ESG – an area that is becoming increasingly important to us. The data and insights we get through the app can, for example, be used to measure how our community is developing and how satisfied our residents are. This helps us ensure that we reach our social goals within ESG," says Oliver Lorentz Larsen, who emphasises that there are also great opportunities on the environmental side.
.jpeg)
There are already features in the app that can be used to share everything from tools to home baking, but he also envisions that it could be used to help estimate attendees at events or use of communal facilities that can help reduce energy consumption, food waste and waste. "These kinds of initiatives can both make a difference for the environment and create value for our residents in their everyday lives," he adds.
Living by ALFA is a response to modern needs such as downsizing, hybrid forms of work and the desire for a better balance between privacy and community. With the first project in Irmabyen, they now aim to scale the concept to more locations in Denmark and Sweden.
"I believe that digital platforms like the Living by ALFA app will play an even more central role in future property development. It's not just about supporting specialised concept buildings, but also about creating value in ordinary housing projects – both new and existing," concludes Oliver Lorentz Larsen. "For me, this is not just about technology – it's about people. Technology should be a tool that strengthens the human aspect, and I think our collaboration with Wicomico has given us a strong starting point to continue in that direction".