Climate-resilient masterplan for Faaborg

Kjellander Sjöberg, in collaboration with the Danish landscape practice LYTT Architecture, resumes the work towards a climate-resilient Faaborg, developing a masterplan for one of the oldest coastal trading towns in Denmark. Appointed by the Faaborg municipality, the team is developing strategies for three key sites – Banegårdspladsen, Stormflodssikringen och Slagterigrunden – to connect the medieval town centre with the harbour, addressing the climate change and maintaining the town’s strong position as an attractive urban destination bordering UNESCO global geopark. The commission is a result of winning a competition in 2019, organized by the municipality and Realdania, inviting teams to participate in an open process to identify opportunities through an open dialogue.

KS appointed Masterplan Lead to transform Northeast Cambridge, UK

Kjellander Sjöberg has been appointed by regeneration specialist U+I (a Landsec Company) and profit-with-purpose developer TOWN to design the masterplan for the new 120-acre Core Site development, a new kind of sustainable, inclusive and affordable community neighbourhood on the edge of – but firmly rooted in – Cambridge.

Kjellander Sjöberg is leading a team of award-winning UK architects including Bell Phillips Architects, Haworth Tompkins, and 5th Studio, with Feilden Fowles, Alison Brooks Architects and Nooma Studio.

A ten-minute walk from Cambridge North station, the Core Site is located within a predominantly employment-based area of the city, neighboured by the world-renowned Cambridge Science Park, St John’s Innovation Park and Cambridge Business Park. The proposal will include over 5,000 homes, schools, shops, and workplaces, including space for Cambridge’s growing life sciences sector, all connected by high quality public realm and extensive green space. The new piece of Cambridge will be a distinctive local place to live, work, play and learn, where people know their neighbours, shop locally and put down roots.

KS Shop 08: Industrial heritage reimagined

Photo exhibition about circular approach, presenting the recently completed transformation of Gjuteriet in Malmö for Varvsstaden, captured by the photographer Rasmus Hjortshøj.

Focused on the intensive re-use of repurposed materials, the project demonstrates how existing buildings can be reimagined based on circular principles. Formerly a ruin, the distinctive building has been given a vibrant new life as an active and social new urban place telling a multifaceted story about the port’s rich maritime heritage.

Kjellander Sjöberg began with what was already there: the imposing steel structure, the brick walls, the frail and broken collage-like character of the building we found – all these preserved stories and narratives that have accumulated over time.

‘The way the new building elements hang from the existing loadbearing structure perfectly demonstrates how retrofitting or transforming existing buildings into new spaces can be done out of respect for the qualities already available. This approach also means that the aesthetic qualities of the existing brick and steel structures and window frames are retained and become important for both the spaces and the representation of the spaces,’ says the photographer Rasmus Hjortshøj.

Tendring and Colchester Borders Garden Community masterplan competition win

Kjellander Sjöberg Architects are part of the winning team in the international two-stage contest to masterplan a new 704-hectare exemplar garden community on the Colchester and Tendring borders in Essex.

The landmark project for Latimer, the development arm of Clarion Housing Group, aims to be the most sustainable and inclusive new community in the UK. It is expected to deliver 7,600 high quality homes and provide employment space as well as community areas over the next two decades.

The bespoke winning team with Haworth Tompkins and Kjellander Sjöberg will be working alongside spatial and landscape design practice Periscope, emerging architecture firm Grounded, engineers Arup and Michael Pawlyn’s regenerative design studio Exploration Architecture.

The brief called for a collaborative and highly innovative design team with an integrated approach – including masterplanning, landscape, architecture, sustainability and community engagement – for a visionary resilient 21st century neighbourhood, setting a new standard for placemaking that will create a lasting legacy for future generations.

Image: Haworth Tompkins

KS team wins architectural competition in Årstafältet, Stockholm

Kjellander Sjöberg, the public housing co-operative SKB and Coop Sweden have won the ‘Årstafältet 6B’ architectural competition in southern Stockholm. The City of Stockholm organising the competition seeks to create a liveable neighbourhood connecting Årstafältet with the adjacent Östberga city district, to add new qualities to both neighbourhoods while paying a close attention to the existing site conditions, in line with the council’s overall goals and vision.

KS, SKB and Coop, in a dynamic team with the landscape architects HornUggla, the civil engineer Florian Kosche and the construction risk analyst Bengt Dahlgren, have designed a mixed-use scheme based on the great long-term development potential of the site, strengthening the links between Östberga and Årstafältet districts and expanding and intensifying its context for now and the future. The ‘Krönet’ proposal is designed in wood, natural stone and with recycled materials. The use of low-carbon concrete is strictly limited to the parking garage and as a reinforcement of the loadbearing structure. The block comprises low-energy buildings with solar cells and fossil-free electricity, reducing the energy use to a level that is approximately 25% below the Swedish national requirements.

Download the full PDF press release (Swedish)

Industrial heritage reimagined

The transformation of Gjuteriet in Malmö, designed by Kjellander Sjöberg for Varvsstaden, has been completed. Focused on the intensive re-use of repurposed materials, the project demonstrates how existing buildings can be reimagined based on circular principles. Formerly a ruin, the distinctive building has been given a vibrant new life as an active and social new urban place telling a multifaceted story about the port’s rich maritime heritage.

Varvsstaden is a major regeneration project in Malmö transforming the old shipyards into a sustainable new district. The historic Gjuteriet foundry building is a key landmark in the area representing Malmö’s emergence as an industrial city. The project is both about the reinvention of the building and its wider environment. Kjellander Sjöberg have developed a program with maximum social, local and environmental benefits which bring to life an active new public realm along the adjacent quay, dry dock and inner basin. This new focal point in Malmö will kick start the regeneration of the Varvsstaden district which is fast evolving into an exciting new mixed-use neighbourhood with homes, workplaces and a new fine arts campus for the University of Lund.

Gjuteriet is a new inspiring and experiential company headquarters for Oatly. It’s an informal, open, authentic workplace built around social meeting and communal spaces – it is also creative, collaborative and activity based – a reflection of the shared values of its users. The ground floor is a generous shared realm that will invite the public to a cafe, restaurant, foyer and exhibition space.

The overarching project ethos placed an acute emphasis on resource preservation and a minimal carbon footprint; what can be built within planetary boundaries, what materials were already available to achieve the most sustainable outcomes?

Varvsstaden had made an enlightened head start, creating a material bank in a nearby warehouse stocked with upcycled materials from other disassembled wharf buildings. Central to the sustainable re-use approach this ‘library of things’; bricks, sheet metal, corrugated panels, stairs, light fittings and more, became the project’s primary building resource and main design driver. Additions to the existing steel frame are in glulam timber and CLT; wherever possible new materials required were sourced from local and renewable sources. Timber is the main regenerative material that defines the new spaces which provide a healthy environment.

The characteristic basilica gables were renovated and insulated on the inside. The fragmented collage of the west façade that bore interesting historical traces lives on with a new protective outer façade of recycled brick. Original brick vaults sealed over the years have been re-opened and are once again prominent features of the building. The original internal east wall found ruined and largely torn away is replaced with a new façade which expresses the steel frame subdivision comprising glazed compartments and staggered hanging brick screens.

The large industrial hall with an existing steel frame and traverse was once alive with busy ship component building activity. Today, the impressive volume is filled anew with new spaces that encourage creative use, social interaction and collaboration. Exceptional daylight permeates throughout the building. An architecture of transparency, and visual connections revolves around the movement of staircases that anchor and connect floating volumes. By rethinking the space, Kjellander Sjöberg have created a dynamic spatial sequence in three dimensions.

Developer: Varvsstaden
Contractor: PEAB
Tenant: Oatly
Collaboration: Sted Landskap, BK Konsult, Matter by Brix, Martinsons

Download PDF Press Release
Read more about Gjuteriet

Ålgrytevägen in Bredäng, Stockholm

Kjellander Sjöberg has been developing, in collaboration with the council-owned public sector housing provider Svenska Bostäder, a proposal for a residential scheme at Ålgrytevägen in Bredäng, southwestern Stockholm.

Bredäng was originally built in the early 1960s and comprises predominantly apartments blocks typical for the era. The specific character of its urban structure and the proximity to nature and water make the area culturally significant and historically valuable, providing optimal key conditions for community regeneration. The ongoing planning process seeks to create an accessible and safe neighbourhood with a focus on social and ecological sustainability.

The emerging masterplan is expected to deliver a place-shaping programme including 800 new homes, education, businesses, community spaces close to the local centre, urban farming, parks and leisure facilities. KS has designed five buildings in three city blocks. Overall, the development creates safe routes and connections to the adjacent districts of Sätra and Mälarhöjden.

Svenska Bostäder is the main stakeholder in Bredäng, owning and managing a large portion of the existing homes in the area. The project was open for public consultation between May and June 2022 and the scrutiny is scheduled for April 2023.

KS Shop 07: The Tactile and Poetic

We welcome the artist Anna Hillbom to the KS Shop.
Displaying a series of sculptures and sketches in the shopfront, we are thrilled to invite everyone to KS’s latest exhibition in central Malmö, a part of the public realm.

Using tactile and poetic means, Anna Hillbom creates a link between the archaic and the experiential, the haptic and the truly human. By replicating the primitive forms, and through an intricate responsive process, both fragility and heaviness arise – means of expression close to the very essence of architecture itself. Through clear materiality using plaster, wood, clay and brass, the inherent qualities of materials are emphasized, which may determine the outcome. Possible poetry arises in forms that speak of the importance of the familiar, the ordinary.

Vernissage

8th December 2022, 17:30 – 20:00
Engelbrektsgatan 7
211 33 Malmö

KS to present urban strategies for climate change in Toronto

KS has been invited to participate in the ’International Architectural Roundtable’ on 30th November in Toronto, Canada. Titled ‘Designing for a Lower Carbon City and Society’, the discussion will focus on how architects and urban planners could lead the way forward toward a more sustainable, inspiring and resilient cities and communities. To combat climate change will require dramatic shifts in how we live, how we get around, and how we build. Denser, more walkable cities can help us achieve environmental and social goals. But getting there needs political capital and a strong design vision for the physical environment. How are we planning and designing for denser cities with higher quality of life? How are architects and planners balancing the needs for resilient and sustainable structures with creating accessible and inspirational urban spaces?

Stefan Sjöberg will present KS’s expertise and methods for designing coherent, inclusive urban environments and neighbourhoods with a distinct character and identity. The presentation will feature the Meridian Water project in London, an emerging masterplan based on the 15-minute city principles for the London Borough of Enfield. The event will conclude with a joint panel discussion.

’International Architectural Roundtable’ is a part of ‘The Buildings Show’ organized by Buildings Canada, an annual three-day event with prominent, expert-led seminars and thought-provoking panel discussion about design, architecture, construction and property management.

Panel guests

Stefan Sjöberg, Founding Partner, Kjellander Sjöberg
Alex Bozikovic, Architecture Critic, The Globe and Mail
Michael Eliason, Founder, Larch Lab
Veronica Madonna, Principal Architect, Studio VMA, Assistant Professor, RAIC Centre for Architecture at Athabasca University

Time and place

30th November
8:00- 10:00 AM (GMT-5)
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South
Toronto, Kanada

KS team shortlisted for Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community

KS and Haworth Tompkins with Periscope, Arup, Michael Pawlyn, Grounded and Connect Group have been shortlisted in the five finalist teams for the international contest Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community to masterplan a 704ha Garden City-style development expected to deliver 9,000 new homes as well as employment space, a new country park, university buildings, a rapid transport system and retail, leisure and community facilities on the edge of Colchester in Essex.

Organised by Colander for Latimer, the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community contest aims to find an ‘exemplary masterplanning team’ to deliver a ‘sustainable and inclusive’ vision for the site. The jury evaluated the entrants’ collaborative approach to the design of a landmark community, which recognises garden city principles, and the final five teams were each awarded scores of more than 90 per cent by the jury.

Colander founder Caroline Cole added: ‘The calibre of submissions for this competition was very high and the shortlisted five teams have the potential to produce something extraordinary.’

Nacka Strand scheme nearing completion

First residents have started to move in to the Nacka Strand scheme. The area, formerly industrial and dominated by office buildings, is being transformed into a vibrant, mixed-use neighbourhood with new homes and diverse retail units close to the waterfront. The project is a collaboration between KS and the developer Besqab.

The design of the new block interacts with the industrial heritage of the site, whilst also acting as a new complement through its palette of materials and varied massing. The scheme will deliver 200 homes overall, with direct access to two shared roof terraces offering breath-taking vistas, excellent sunlight conditions and greenery.

The construction started in 2020. The first phase of four is nearing completion.

Full occupancy of Sverre in Uppsala

The last tenants are finally moving in to the fully refurbished Sverre block facing the Vaksala torg in central Uppsala. Kjellander Sjöberg worked on this major renovation project together with Uppsalahem, adapting the characteristic building originally designed by the Anker-Gate-Lindegren architects in the late 1960s.

The project comprised a rigorous façade renovation, an extensive alteration of the original layout with 32 large units, a two-storey addition on the roof and an entirely new residential volume in the courtyard. The scheme was completed in the autumn of 2021, providing 79 rental apartments in total. The design was inspired by the distinctive brutalist expression of the existing building, informing the selection of materials and forms, whilst creating an interesting addition to the character of the entire block.

Architecture for climate emergency

Kjellander Sjöberg will host the Architects Declare networking meeting in Malmö on 27th September. The point of departure for the debate is the critical impact using raw materials has on our climate, and will feature three built projects, each based on their specific site conditions as a means to minimise the use of resources in a different way – Psychiatric Clinic in Borås by White, Våtmarksparken in Västerås by Topia and KS’s transformation of Gjuteriet in Malmö.

Architects Declare is a network of architectural practices committed to addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency. The initiative was launched in the UK in the spring of 2019 and has now spread to more than 28 countries around the world. Swedish Architects Declare was introduces in the autumn of 2019 and has been signed by over 300 Swedish architectural practices.

The networking event takes place simultaneously in Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm with the option to participate online.

Speakers:
Susanna von Eyben, White
Jenny Elgstrand, Topia
Johan Pitura, Kjellander Sjöberg

Time and place:
27th September 17:00
Kjellander Sjöberg
Engelbrektsgatan 7
211 33 Malmö

The event will be held in Swedish with the possibility to join online.
The registration closes on 25th September.

Timber and sustainable construction at the Architecture Days in Paris

As part of the ‘Architecture Days’ organised for the design season ‘Swedish Secrets’, KS will participate at the ‘Afterwork for professionals and architecture enthusiasts’ on 16th September at the Institut Suédois in Paris. Using examples by four invited Swedish architecture practices, the event will highlight and explore processes behind designing sustainable projects on various scales, from large metropolitan areas to small villages.

Ola Kjellander will present the KS methodology and tools, featuring the Bergsvåg residential scheme in Norra Djurgårdssaden in Stockholm and the transformation of Gjuteriet in Malmö, concentrating on timber, adaptive reuse and sustainable construction.

Participants: Kjellander Sjöberg, Liljewall arkitekter, Murman arkitekter and White arkitekter.

The event is organised by Architects Sweden and SI Paris.

Time and place:
16th september 18:00-20:00
Institut Suédois
11 rue Payenne
F-75003 Paris
France

The event will be held in English and is open to everyone.

Photo: Luca Lomazzi / voyez-vous

Swedish Secrets at the Institut Suédois in Paris

Kjellander Sjöberg has been invited to participate in the ‘Architecture Days’ discussion series taking place at the Institut Suédois in Paris on 15th and 16th September, organised as a part of the design season ‘Swedish Secrets’ by Architects Sweden. During the two days, Swedish and French architects will present and discuss sustainable approaches for urban and rural settings with a particular focus on the future use of timber in the construction industry.

Introducing the practice and featuring the transformation of Gjuteriet in Malmö and the Meridian Water masterplan in London, KS will give insight into their process and methodology for designing inclusive sustainable cities and urban places.

Running between 2nd September and 2nd October, ‘Swedish Secrets’ is a part of the ‘Swedish Design Movement’, an initiative to promote Swedish architecture, design and fashion to support the transition towards a more sustainable society.

Time and place:
15th September
Institut Suédois
11 rue Payenne
F-75003 Paris
France

Think Tank 022: Reflective practice & process

Shaping inclusive environments

How do we shape future design processes of our shared (and) physical living environment?

Reflective and responsive architectural practice needs to address current challenges and explore new territories.

In a changing social and planetary environment, what is the architect’s role?

In the midst of major transformation with blurred boundaries, hybrid combinations, and multiple stakeholders; what new types of collaborations are critical?

For this Think Tank, we have invited prominent architects based in Paris to take us through some fundamental aspects of their workshops; their processes, culture and methods.

Their thinking.

Through highly inspiring examples and references, we promote a panel discussion primarily on principles and possible paths towards a healthier, more sustainable, adaptive and inclusive future.

We would like to investigate common grounds as well as distinctively individual features that make a diverse and meaningful contribution to urban places and to the discourse.

This is a session to encourage an exchange of ideas, perspectives and experiences.
Welcome!

The event will be hosted by Architects Sweden and Institut Suédois with Kjellander Sjöberg.

Panel:
Studio Muoto (FR)
Septembre Architecture (FR)
Nicolas Dorval-Bory (FR)
Plan Común (FR)

Time and place:
15th September 2022, 19:30
Institut Suédois
11 rue Payenne
F-75003 Paris
France

The event will be in English and is open for everyone.

Ekelund Pampas public consultation open

Located in Solna within the Metropolitan Stockholm, by the Pampas Marina and Västra Skogen, Kjellander Sjöberg in collaboration with HSB and Aros Bostad are developing a new district with close proximity to central Stockholm, nature and the active marina. The site, surrounded by substantial infrastructure and dominated by large buildings and currently comprising a diverse mix of environments with disparate characters, will be transformed into a vibrant and pleasant neighbourhood for residents and visitors.

The point of departure for the design is the interpretation of the site as a very special meeting between the city, nature and water. The masterplan is tailored to the surrounding topography, infrastructure and urban fabric, and is based on a traditional grid with massing varying between 6 and 8 floors. The material palette employs warm, earthy, natural tones, and is inspired by the site’s history as well as classic facade materials.

The new neighbourhood will provide new residential units, retail, pre-schools and restaurants on the ground floor.

Ekelund Pampas is a collaboration between Kjellander Sjöberg (masterplanner and residential architect), HSB, Aros Bostad, Solna Municipality, Urbio (landscape architect), Strategisk Arkitektur (office architect) and Iterio (transport).

The public consultation is open until 14th September 2022.

Image: Darcstudio

Meridian Water Masterplan team on site

Invited by the Enfield Council, the core Meridian Water Masterplan team consisting of Kjellander Sjöberg, Periscope, Mae Architects, Jacobs Engineering and the London Borough of Enfield, has met on site to exchange expertise and to walk through the entire area and experience its unique qualities.

The team visited the Building BloQs, a professional makerspace and a social enterprise focusing on creating and maintaining space and resources for people to make a living off their craft, and took the last opportunity to see the former gasworks Drumsheds, a renowned event space which closed earlier this year.

Meridian Water is a major regeneration programme, bringing 10,000 homes alongside a truly mixed-use community with 6,000 jobs and commercial clusters to Enfield.