SWEDEN’S SKY WALK
09 Dec 2015
Seeking to maximise space in urban areas, a Swedish firm has developed a new plan for central Stockholm that will raise public space sky high.
Faced with the challenge of how to create new places for people to cohabit in urban areas, designers and architects are increasingly looking for new designs that allow urbanites to maximise their lifestyles while minimising environmental impact.
With an eye to accommodating a growing population, the Stockholm Centre Party commissioned the new city area design aimed at developing the neighbourhood on top of the train tracks near Stockholm Central Station. The proposed plan from Anders Berensson will ‘densify’ currently populated areas and utilise existing infrastructure in an attempt to capitalise on one of the city’s most desired areas, accommodating as many people as possible in this central location.
Rising to the challenge, Swedish firm Anders Berensson Architects plan includes environmentally conscious buildings, rooftop terraces and a Sky Walk that ties it all together into a community.
The development will accommodate 5800 apartments, 8000 work places and 300 commercial shops. With a multitude of thin towers of staggered heights, anything from four to thirty storeys, the plan will achieve lots of natural light and includes a range of green spaces with views of nearby Lake Mälaren. The staggered height of the buildings takes into considering already existing structures and aims to avoid negatively impacting the natural light they receive or blocking their views.
The architects state, “The proposal is apartment buildings scaled down to its smallest component, one stairwell surrounded by apartments to get the smallest footprint possible.”
“With these smaller volumes, the design can be more flexible and adapt to parameters such as views, sight lines and light conditions and still get more living space. The design also makes larger parts of the area accessible to the public since both courtyards and roof terraces are crossed by public paths.”
The crowning glory of this plan, the Sky Walk, is the most innovative aspect of this creative design. Slated to be Sweden’s longest public green space upon completion, the Sky Walk will not only provide the best views in the city, it will also serve as a conduit to the busy waterfront. Comprised of a series of bridges that connect the rooftop terraces between the buildings, the Sky Walk will provide a tangible means by which residents and visitors can bond with their environment from on-high.