Impact case / Musholm

Improving the quality of life

Impactfull perspectives

300.000.000

DKK million on healthcare costs the Danish society will be able to save each year

Physical inactivity cuts years off a person’s life and leads to more years of illness. This is especially the case for people with mobility disabilities, 38 percent of whom are physically inactive. That is why Musholm has been designed as a place that motivates everyone – regardless of their disability – to lead an active life. That’s because it makes sense not just for the individual but for society as a whole, which will save more than DKK 300 million a year on healthcare costs – assuming that the Musholm concept is implemented in the rest of Danish society.

Mobility for people regardless of their disabilities

Musholm has been designed as a multifunctional powerhouse, where holiday homes and a variety of shared facilities give people with disabilities the opportunity to lead an active life. This is especially true of the multi-purpose hall, where a 110-metre long activity ramp encourages physical activity. With its landings and recreational zones, the ramp brings the visitors up onto a plateau where wheelchair users can engage in activities such as trying their hands at a climbing wall and the world’s first cable-lift for wheelchair users. In that way, Musholm becomes a place that gets people moving, no matter their disabilities, and gives them the opportunity to play, have experiences and form new social bonds.

The notion that architecture can be identical to freedom is one we’ve never encountered before.

Conclusion of the Alexandra Institute’s anthropological field study of Musholm

It’s a place where children get to live a life they are usually denied.

Parents of a child with muscular dystrophy / Qualitative insight from the Alexandra Institute’s anthropological field study of Musholm

The children love wheeling along on the activity ramp. They have competitions up the ramp, and the entire multi-purpose hall is packed with opportunities to play.

Parents of a child with muscular dystrophy / Qualitative insight from the Alexandra Institute’s anthropological field study of Musholm

Teambuilding 2016 01 aart architects Low

Physical inactivity has a cost

No less than 38 people with mobility disabilities in Denmark are physically inactive. This is equivalent to 95,000 people in Denmark, and the consequences of a life without exercise and movement are striking. After adjusting for smoking, alcohol and obesity, physical inactivity costs up to 6 years of life and upwards of 10 extra years of illness, and the many complications associated with physical activity result in 710,000 additional doctor’s visits and 280,000 somatic outpatient hospital visits every single year. On an annual basis, this corresponds to extra costs of DKK 5.3 billion just for treatment and care in Denmark.

Eliminates physical barriers

Musholm accordingly tackles a major societal challenge, aiming to show how architecture can promote physical activity for people regardless of their disabilities. Every second person with a disability highlights their physical surroundings as the primary barrier to living an active life. Musholm therefore serves as an example of how one can remove physical barriers so that buildings and urban spaces increasingly embrace the differences that make us human - not by smoothing out those differences, but instead by being more inclusive.

Når mennesker med handicap gøres til noget særligt, er det ikke, fordi handicappet gør dem anderledes, men i reglen af den helt banale grund, at omgivelserne skaber nogle barrierer, der stiller sig i vejen for lige udfoldelsesmuligheder for mennesker med handicap. When people with disabillities are made into something special, it is not because their disability makes them different, but because the surroundings create some barriers on their way to common opportunities for expression.

Bengtson, Steen, Storgaard Bonfi ls, Inge og Olsen, Leif (2008): Handicap og ligebehandling i praksis

The economic benefits of making a social difference

Making a social difference comes with major socio-economic implications. As already touched on, the physical environment of people with disabilities is crucial to their ability to lead an active life. And if, through a focused intervention - where Musholm can serve as an example - one could increase the activity levels of people with disabilities to the same levels of people without disabilities, that would be the equivalent of helping 45,000 people move from an inactive to an active life. Even after revising that figure down to 35,000 - which is more accurate as some are so physically disabled that they are unable to exercise - Danish society would save more than DKK 300 million a year on healthcare costs.

Arkitekturpriser⁶

2017

IOC/IAKS Award

The International Olympic Committee honours Musholm for being one of the world’s best sports facilities at the IOC/IAKS Distinction Awards in Cologne.

2017

IPC/IAKS Distinction Award

The International Paralympic Committee honours Musholm for being one of the world’s most accessible sports facilities at the IPC/IAKS Distinction Awards in Cologne.

2016

IAUD Award

Musholm receives an award from International Association of Universal Design for being the world’s most socially inclusive place at the IAUD Awards in Japan.

2016

Architizer +Award

Architizer nominates Musholm as one of the world’s most visionary sports buildings at the Architizer +Awards ceremony in New York.

2016

WAN Sport in Architecture Award

World Architecture News nominates Musholm as one of the world’s best sports buildings at the WAN Awards ceremony.

2015

Slagelse Municipality Building Award

Slagelse Municipality honours Musholm for beautifying the built environment in the municipality at the annual building awards ceremony.

Sources

Danish Health and Medicines Authority, Facts about physical inactivity, 2015 / The Alexandra Institute, Anthropological field study of Musholm, 2016 / Danish Ministry of Culture, Idræt for alle, 2009 / The Danish Disability Council, People with disabilities in Denmark, 2014