A role model for future housing projects
Heime in Vindmøllebakken
Published 23 January 2026
Heime in Vindmøllebakken
Vindmøllebakken in Stavanger has become a role model for new ways of living. Here, a social housing model is combined with award-winning architecture, designed to make sharing, meeting, and living more sustainably easier. The housing model supports increased sustainability, higher quality of life, and reduced loneliness. Heime functions as a digital hub in the building, making it easy to organize both sharing and social activities.
A role model for future housing projects
Vindmøllebakken is Norway’s first realized project based on Gaining by Sharing – a housing model where residents have their own fully equipped apartments while sharing around 500 m² of common areas, including kitchens, workshops, a library, guest apartments, rooftop terraces, and greenhouses.
This model makes it possible to live in smaller private units while still having access to functions and spaces that would otherwise be unavailable.
The architectural firm Helen & Hard designed the project, which is built entirely in wood, using prefabricated elements and natural materials that create a warm and calm indoor climate.
The architecture is intentionally designed to make sharing a natural part of everyday life:
- Common areas are centrally located and easily accessible to all residents
- Double-height rooms and large window surfaces provide light, air, and visual connection between floors
- The atrium and courtyard function as the heart of the building, offering space for both activity and calm
Vindmøllebakken has received several prestigious awards and nominations, including Statens pris for byggkvalitet 2020, recognizing a new and inclusive housing model that improves both quality of life and sustainability.
Juries particularly highlight how the architecture and housing model together create an inclusive, flexible, and future-oriented living environment.
Vindmøllebakken demonstrates how architecture, technology, and sharing can be combined to create better ways of living. The project has inspired new initiatives across Norway and Europe, and the model is now being developed further in multiple cities.
Vindmøllebakken is built entirely in wood, from top to bottom – including the office space on the top floor, one of the neighborhood’s popular shared solutions. Residents also share greenhouses, communal kitchens, guest apartments, a common basement lounge, and a wide selection of tools.
Heime in Vindmøllebakken
Heime – a hub in Vindmøllebakken
Heime acts as the digital hub of Vindmøllebakken, making it easy to use, share, and organize everything the neighborhood offers. Through the app, residents can reserve and unlock shared spaces such as kitchens, rooftop lounges, workshops, and guest apartments – completely keyless and without manual coordination.
Residents actively use the app’s group functionality and have created groups for buying and selling, lending, everyday help, and social initiatives, making it easy to find both items and people within the neighborhood.
The Helpful Neighbors feature allows residents to ask for or offer everyday help, from plant watering to babysitting. In the activity calendar, residents find everything happening in the building, be it shared dinners, community workdays, courses, movie nights, and spontaneous initiatives started by neighbors themselves.
In this way, Heime becomes a practical and social connector that simplifies everyday life and strengthens the community.
Organize activities, book shared spaces, and invite neighbors directly in the app. Heime makes it easy to start initiatives, keep track of shared areas, and bring people together without extra coordination.
Heime in Vindmøllebakken
