Kjellander Sjöberg nominated for the Housing Prize 2016 by Architects Sweden

The project Fittja Terraces has been nominated for the Housing Prize 2016, annually awarded by Architects Sweden, with the motivation: “The design shows a possible way of working with standardized building elements – an affordable construction method selected in order to give locals possibilities to own their own dwellings. The architectural expression and the local plan are both designed to endorse future additions and the residents can influence the layout and number of rooms in their homes.

The project Fittja Terraces represents the area’s first new production of housing for the selling market and is a welcomed addition to the large existing rental housing stock built in the 1970’s. The new buildings create a clearly integrated lively strip between the local centre and Fittja Äng further down towards the water. The environment becomes a small-scale urban addition with social opportunities, emphasizing variation and a rich diversity of housing types and sizes.

The Housing Prize is issued annually by Architects Sweden, rewarding recently completed residential projects of high architectural quality. The jury takes into consideration living qualities, good execution processes, tradition and international influence as well as how technical innovations are designed. The aim is to stimulate and broaden the knowledge of excellent residential projects in Sweden.

Fittja Terraces offers alternative form of housing in terms of size, price and quality, and strives for creating opportunities for a housing career locally. The broadness and diversity is created through focusing on small apartments, bigger households with many rooms for large families and possibilities for multigenerational homes in the area. The project proved to be very popular – all dwellings were sold to mainly local residents in a very short time.

Through a deliberate focus on mixing different sizes of households, types of accommodation and by providing a complement to the area’s homogeneous nature – in terms of both content and architecture – Fittja Terraces are a step towards social sustainability in Botkyrka.

Kjellander Sjöberg launches new visual identity

Kjellander Sjöberg has developed a new visual identity in collaboration with Burgess & Beech, a London-based graphic design practice. KS is constantly developing and growing; we are an innovative, international, creative, ethical and engaged architectural practice and it was therefore natural to update our graphic identity to reflect this.

For KS it is very important to further strengthen our active role within the architectural and urban design discourse, as well as reaching out to the industry and to interested members of the public, both in Sweden and internationally.

Remove clutter
We work with design on a daily basis, and therefore have very high expectations on our own graphic products. All excess elements have been removed by introducing a clear and simple logotype, developed with the motto ‘remove clutter’. The objective of the change was to clearly convey Kjellander Sjöberg’s core values through the visual language. The dialogue and journey with Burgess & Beech has been exciting and we are very happy with the outcome. We hope that you will enjoy our new visual language as much as we do!

Magnolia square stage one of a new neighbourhood

KS develops in southern Stockholm

With a variation of streets, squares and parks, Magnolia Square is the first stage of a new mixed-use urban district in Stora Sköndal. Kjellander Sjöberg have been appointed to design the urban space together with the building volumes and procurement of the overall quality program.

The proposed plan, which has been earmarked for approval in 2017, sets the foundations for a larger development of an inclusive neighbourhood with clear links to the surrounding area and the region’s existing cultural milieu. Lively and active urban spaces are generated through the collection of sensitive building forms, walking-speed streets, pocket parks and squares. Sköndal’s exiting public services provide a platform for the proposed additions to develop further.

The current planning stage for the site consists of a mix of rental and owner apartments, health care and nursing homes as well as office and commercial space. The project team also includes Landskapslaget who have been appointed for the design and development of the landscaping, and real estate developers EBAB. Magnolia Square is a collaborative initiative between Stiftelsen Stora Sköndal (as client) and the City of Stockholm.

KS awarded first prize in design innovation competition

Sege Park presents possibilities for reduced resource consumption

The project It Takes a Block has been announced as the winner for the design innovation competition – The Nordic Built City Challenge – for the Swedish site in Sege Park in Malmö. The proposal has been developed by Kjellander Sjöberg along with the Danish landscape practices Sted and BOGL, Atkins consultancy, Platspilot and students from LTH. It presents affordable housing based on climate-smart and community-based solutions for liveable and sustainable smart cities.

The winning proposal combines a number of strategies in order to support a sustainable lifestyle with a focus on sharing as a way to reduce resource consumption. There are several common facilities within the urban block, such as a canteen and a cultural centre. The roof terraces are equipped with greenhouses and a water centre with a bath and a laundry room. These shared functions and spaces allow for smaller living spaces whilst maintaining or even improving the living quality.

Open and flexible spaces connected to space-efficient functions are a common theme for both the indoor and outdoor design. The residents are encouraged to use the block and living areas as efficiently and innovatively as possible to suit their needs.

The prize was awarded during the Nordic Built Cities Benchmarking Forum in Helsinki.

New school in Burkina Faso

KS designs a project in West Africa

A school building designed by Kjellander Sjöberg is currently being built in the village Nakamtenga in Burkina Faso. The project is an initiative of the organization Yennenga Progress, which has already built another school in the area. The project proved to be a great success in the village; children make rapid progress and the school also attracts students from the surrounding villages. The need for classrooms is extensive across the whole region.

The building’s robust concept derives from a modular frame system across three dimensions. This provides opportunities to create spaces for the stairs, entrance balconies, canopies and solar protection within the same system.

The school is built entirely by local builders and craftsmen, thus creating much needed local livelihoods. The building’s foundation is in place and the classrooms will be ready for the start of term in September.

The project is volunteer based and carried out pro-bono by Kjellander Sjöberg.

Nordic team finalists in Malmö

Sustainable lifestyle in a climate-smart block

Kjellander Sjöberg has been selected as one of the four finalists in the design competition”Sharing for Affordable and Climate Smart Living”. The competition aims to find climate-smart solutions for Sege Park which will become Malmö’s new showcase for sustainable urban development, comprising 800 new housing units, within ten years. Sege Park is one of six in the Nordic competition series “The Nordic Built Cities Challenge”.

KS has together with the Danish landscape practices Sted and BOGL, along with LTH students and Atkins consultancy, developed the proposal It Takes a Block. It focuses on the lifestyle aspects of creating a sustainable society and how it can be supported by the built environment.

The second phase of the design competition will be carried out in the spring of 2016, in parallel with a land transfer competition for the area, offering a possibility for collaboration across both processes.

The four finalists will be exhibited at the Form/Design Center in Malmö from 3rd February until 6th March 2016.

Klara Strand becomes an urban node

KS transforms key property in central Stockholm

Kjellander Sjöberg is commissioned by NIAM to develop the Klara Strand block into a new welcoming urban node. The block is strategically situated near Stockholm Central Station.

By means of renovation and extensions, the vision for Klara Strand is to increase the intensity and range of activities in the area as well as integrate the building more clearly into the cityscape. By focusing on urban qualities and by opening up towards the surrounding urban fabric, the property is established as an important key point within the city.

The project works across various scales and dissolves boundaries between landscape, city, building and interior. The first phase of the project comprises a vivid bazaar with shops and cafés that open towards the Klarabergsgatan street, as well as a new interior street with meeting places for both the public as well as for private and commercial use. Estimated completion of the first stage is June 2016.

KS wins in southern Stockholm

Mix of urban and nature qualities

Kjellander Sjöberg has won the urban design competition for the Magnolia site by the centre of Sköndal in southern Stockholm. The design increases the openness of the area, connecting the adjacent urban fabric with valuable cultural and natural surroundings. The supplementary urban fabric generates a rich mixture of housing typologies, programmes and activities, creating a new network of public spaces and parks as destination points for the whole city of Stockholm.

The design proposal seeks to redevelop the public realm and consists of a new square, a pocket park, a shared-street and four new blocks with approximately 200 residential units in mixed forms of tenure, along with care and nursing homes. The development will focus on generating inclusive life conditions, ecosystem services and an environment that gives priority to pedestrians and cyclists.

The site is owned and managed by the Foundation Stora Sköndal, which is an idea driven, non-profit organization, engaged in diaconal-social work. KS’s commission is to develop a structural plan with programming and a guideline document in collaboration with the City of Stockholm and the Foundation Stora Sköndal.

The public hearing for the DDP is due in the spring of 2016 and construction is planned to commence on site during 2017.

View from Stadshagsberget

Kjellander Sjöberg’s and Wallin’s latest collaboration

KS is, in close collaboration with the developer Byggnadsfirman Erik Wallin, developing two new housing volumes with 90 apartments. The project is situated in the Stadshagen district on Kungsholmen in central Stockholm. Stadshagen is characterised by its open green structure, its rich recreational possibilities and the vicinity to the waterside. The building volumes are designed to overlook the Karlberg creek and the rooftops of Vasastan with both nature and urban life just around the corner.

The project is a part of the new Stadshagen masterplan; which is a growing extension of the dense city center around St. Eriksgatan and Flemminggatan. The project’s small and compact housing units have got strong, efficient floor plans and high end interior design finishes.

The detailed development plan is currently going through public hearing. It is estimated for approval in the early 2017. Construction is due to commence in 2018.

KS opens new office in Malmö

Kjellander Sjöberg is proud to establish a new branch in Malmö!

The practice has won several competitions and is continuously receiving more architectural and urban planning commissions in the Öresund region, therefore the time has come for the Stockholm based architects to open up the doors to a new office on Saltimporten in Malmö.

Malmö is an important city due to its strategic urban visions and its explicit focus on quality in architecture and urban design. KS is impressed by the city’s expansion and the energy with which the city addresses current issues concerning social opportunities, sustainable development and the focus on creating an interconnected city, which provides a higher quality of life for all citizens.

We look forward to a successful collaboration Malmö!

KS’s project in Tyresö has won

New collaboration between KS and Tobin Properties

Kjellander Sjöberg’s commission for designing a new housing project by the golf course in Tyresö, proceeds in collaboration with Tobin Properties.

Tyresö is an expansive area with a wealth of natural landscapes and coastline; with excellent public transport and road connections to central Stockholm. Here, in one of the area’s most attractive locations, KS and Tobin Properties develop a new, exciting, mixed urban scheme. A series of residential blocks with varied facade expressions are proposed next to Tyresö Golf Club, set around a small local street and green courtyards. The buildings along the golf course are interconnected with the green golf landscape and its related activities. Each floor and housing block will offer flats of varying sizes, respectively. Innovative floorplans and lush balconies, offering views of the landscape, characterize the project throughout.

The Educator of the Year 2014

Kjellander Sjöberg appointed Educator of the year 2014

The Swedish Association of Architects presented five awards at the annual Architecture Gala 2014. These were received by architects and others who have put in an extra effort to improve the world (around them). Kjellander Sjöberg was appointed as the Educator of the year 2014 for the collegial discussion platform Think Tank. Delighted and honoured by the award, we feel very encouraged to continue our efforts! Keep an eye out on our website and Facebook page for upcoming events in 2015.

The jury evaluation for the Educator of the Year:
A generous and collegial platform for current and interesting discussions about the city, people, space and architecture. Open to everyone and a key motor and driving force to the architectural and social discourse in Sweden. Sharing is caring! The award for the Educator of the year goes to Kjellander Sjöberg’s Think Tank.

Ream more on the Sveriges Arkitekter's website
Read more about Think Tank

1st prize for Woodhouse Rosendal

The utilised block!

The architectural practice Kjellander Sjöberg has, along with Diligentia, won a land transfer competition in Rosendal with the proposal Woodhouse. The project comprises 100 innovative housing units, using passive-house techniques around a community-minded, green and vivid courtyard. The proposal consists of buildings in solid timber with the theme: “The able and variable neighbourhood”.

Woodhouse Rosendal is the result of a close collaboration between the property developer Diligentia, URBIO landscape architects, Aton Technology & energy consultants and RENEWINN timber consultants.

Uppsala Municipality’s vision for the emerging neighbourhood of Rosendal, in the southern parts of Uppsala, near Akademiska Sjukhuset, is of an exciting and vibrant urban environment with innovative solutions for sustainability, urban life and architecture.

KS’s winning proposal occupies the largest competition area, A1, by the area’s new square, Halltorget. Woodhouse is based on the fundamental concept of sustainable lifestyle with high quality of life, excellent architecture and urban design which generates new experiences.

First prize – Trädgårdsstaden

Land transfer competition in Helsingborg settled

KS’s proposal Trädgårdsstaden has won the land transfer competition for Ringstorp in Helsingborg, issued by the municipality of Helsingborg, with developers Sundprojekt and Strabag. The project will now proceed and obtain development rights, based on the current DDP from 2010. (Gamla staden 5:16, based on the illustration plan and drafts developed by Marianne Levinsen, landscape, Tengbom architects and Dorte Mandrup architects in co-operation with the municipal planning department). KS’s proposal contributes with a mixed scheme comprising approximately 190 new residential units in a project that simultaneously incorporates small-scale qualities and density with a combination of green public spaces, courtyards for public gathering and private spaces.

Trädgårdsstaden’s concept and structure derives from the local context with its crisp and dramatic mix of high rises, allotment gardens and gardens surrounding single-family houses. The concept is based on the surrounding private gardens which are moved up vertically in the proposed new buildings. All residents are given an advantaged and sustainable opportunity to influence and cultivate in their own domestic environment. The buildings will have seasonal, vivid and evolving green facades, with their own kitchen gardens, plots or orangeries. The landscape at ground level in contrast provides opportunities for social interaction, a sense of community, meetings, playing and recreation. Ample focus has been given to how the proposal is integrated and linked with the patterns, flows and movements of city. Trädgårdsstaden is a welcoming, safe and innovative environment for all.

New CEO at KS

Mi Inkinen has been appointed CEO at Kjellander Sjöberg architects in Stockholm from 1st June 2014. She has been a partner at KS for nine years, where she, along with heading several of the practice’s built projects, has led and coordinated the company’s strategic development, focusing on quality and profitability associated with new business opportunities.

– Kjellander Sjöberg are in a strong position today. We have expanded in several areas and successfully won many new contracts. We have deliberately focused on development, expanding our vision both regarding our internal organization and creative design work. Kjellander Sjöberg stands for innovation and sustainability, projects that last. Our professional approach is to create a close relationship between architecture and urban design, working with buildings and urban spaces that reinforce each other and the city. I look forward to actively developing our practice in the exciting phase we are in, says Mi Inkinen.

– Mi Inkinen is an accomplished leader with a holistic approach and extensive experience of the field as a whole. With her deep insight, expertise and knowledge of the business , she will be able to achieve our long term goals to further develop and strengthen KS’s position as a leading architectural firm, both in Sweden and internationally, says Stefan Sjöberg, Chairman of Kjellander Sjöberg.

Contact Mi Inkinen

Urban development assignment Kolkajen

KS selected by the City of Stockholm

Kjellander Sjöberg, in a team with Urban Minds, Urbio, Iterio and Ekologigruppen, has been selected by the City of Stockholm for a framework agreement and parallel assignment in Norra Djurgårdsstaden.

The assignment encompasses an urban development concept for the Hjorthagen waterfront area in Norra Djurgårdsstaden, linking the Brofästet area with the transportation node at Ropsten. Kolkajen has been identified as a future sustainable neighborhood with at least 1,500 new housing units, work places and complementary social and commercial services. The attractive design of the new district will enhance the area’s potential and create a vibrant waterfront environment that will become both a local destination as well as inviting visitors from further afield.

Kolkajen is expected to become a dynamic meeting point, offering a high quality living environment, an urban environment that is characterized by the area’s high ambition regarding the environment and sustainability.

The assignment encompasses “Urban structure, building volumes and design of public spaces in the phases Kolkajen, Tjärkajen and Ropsten in Norra Djurgårdsstaden”. The procurement regards both a parallel assignment and a framework agreement for continued design of the urban structure and the public spaces. The contracting unit is Exploateringskontoret, the division for Major projects. Out of 28 applicants, three teams have been selected after a prequalification and interview stage.

KS’s new PR department

Saki Azodi and Jakub Jílek strengthens the team

Saki Azodi and Jakub Jílek have been appointed new PR and Communications coordinators at Kjellander Sjöberg architects in Stockholm. Both are educated architects with a background in public relations.

Saki obtained a master degree at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art’s school of Architecture in Copenhagen and a bachelor degree from LondonMet in London. She has previously been with Henning Larsen Architects and Caruso St John, and has an international background in architecture, art, fashion, web and communications.

Jakub is originally Czech but comes to KS from Gothenburg. He has a double master’s degree in architecture and urban design from Chalmers University of Technology and CTU in Prague. Besides architecture, he has worked with public relations and graphic design within architecture, academia and performing arts.

Contact Jakub Jílek
Contact Saki Azodi

KS wins urban planning commission at Kvarnholmen

First prize invited urban planning competition

After a parallel design assignment with four invited architects Kvarnholmen Utveckling AB has, in consultation with the municipality of Nacka, chosen to proceed with Kjellander Sjöberg to do an urban planning investigation for Kvarnholmen’s final stage, Gäddviken and Hästholmssundet.

Kjellander Sjöberg has, according to the assessment team, approached the task in a creative and engaging way with a proposal that conveys a sense of a dense city, close to the water, with exciting qualities that are expected to contribute to a sustainable and vibrant urban environment. The winning proposal provides a proper and robust starting point to develop design ideas further for future development.

Now the design phase continues parallel with technical studies. The goal is to have a finished urban plan, by the turn of 2014-15, which is the basis for the formal zoning plan.

Participating architects in the competition were White Architects, Alma Architects, Lindberg Stenberg Architects and Kjellander Sjöberg.