Tile House – A new distinct chapter in a historic inner-city environment

On Norrbackagatan 49 in Vasastan, 79 carefully designed homes are nearing completion. Kjellander Sjöberg has designed the bespoke residential infill Tile House based on the complexity of the site and its context; commissioned by the developer Fokus Nordic. In response to the district’s cultural history, a combination of twentieth-century romantic classicism and more robust industrial heritage, and the currently emerging neighbourhood Hagastaden, the scheme is a distinct and respectful addition to local character and needs. The building stands out in the streetscape with a stepped articulated volume with a muted green shimmering ceramic façade. Walking through a portico from the street, one arrives at a lush green courtyard for leisure and communal activities. At the top, a generous roof terrace offers common areas with panoramic views over Stockholm’s rooftops.

Masterplan for Hagastaden East approved

The Local Planning Authority in Stockholm has approved the masterplan for Hagastaden East, transforming the area into a new welcoming entrance to Stockholm, delivering a combination of homes, public amenities, retail units, new parks, squares, sports facilities, schools, workplaces, and many more. Hagastaden, expected to be completed by 2030, will become an inner-city neighbourhood where Stockholm and Solna meet. Currently dominated by unused land and infrastructure, the city council is removing barriers and facilitating free movement between districts in a dense and vibrant environment with new connections to the National City Park.

The masterplan for Hagastaden East includes the Ribosomen project – a new mixed-use scheme with workplaces, residential units, and retail spaces, inspired by the classical 19th century urban typology and the iconic brick architecture of Vasastaden, designed by architects such as Cyrillus Johansson, Ragnar Östberg and Edvard Bernhard. The project is being developed by Kjellander Sjöberg for Humlegården, as a result of an invited competition win.

Approved: Planning process for Rosengård

The Local Planning Authority approved the application to initiate the planning process for Rosengård on 14th December. The decision represents the first milestone in the urban development Culture Casbah, led by the landowner Rosengård fastigheter in collaboration with the Malmö City Council.

The goal is to regenerate Rosengård, transforming it from a homogenous, predominantly residential area into a mixed, vibrant, urban, and green neighbourhood. We are delighted for the opportunity to support in realising such an important vision, realising the community potential. After the fall, filled with community engagement events, public dialogues, Shop Talks, and local guided tours, there is a substantial momentum surrounding the emerging masterplan which will deliver much-needed new homes.

The tall building is part of a broader urban development strategy to activate and connect Rosengård with the rest of the city. The planning process focuses primarily on Rosengård’s central axis with a connecting green structure – Rosenparken; urban meeting places; active ground floors; and proximity – densification with new typologies and residential types.

Season’s Greetings and best wishes for the New Year

This year, we have engaged in many genuine and rewarding conversations.

Talking to those who already live, use, and know a place increases the potential for social connections, belonging, well-being, and quality of life.

Listening, establishing shared frameworks, trying to understand priorities; how to mend, improve and create new connections and inclusive, generous settings.

For us, urban development and architecture are about creating a shared vision for the future, providing better conditions for neighbourhoods and local communities to thrive and prosper.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed and made it possible – in Cambridge, Colchester, Faaborg, Gothenburg, London, Malmö, and Stockholm.

Season’s Greetings and best wishes for the New Year from all of us at Kjellander Sjöberg

Legacy: Gjuteriet in the magazine Arkitektur

– On the site of Kockum’s former shipyards, there is a new neighbourhood being built, preserving remains of the past. Looking at a timber structure suspended from retained steel beams, Jelena Mijanovi? asks herself: Is this the future?

Kjellander Sjöberg’s transformation of Gjuteriet in Malmö for Varvsstaden is published in the latest issue of Arkitektur – the largest architectural magazine in the Nordics which has been analysing, evaluating and documenting Swedish architecture and urban design since 1901.

In the comprehensive article, Jelena Mijanovi? reasons about circular economy, material reuse as well as how architectural qualities are measured and how to ensure they key to sustainability assessments.

– Gjuteriet represents one of the great examples. The newly built parts keep a respectful distance from the historic remains. Half of the building is suspended from the preserved steel structure. The relationship between new and old is clear: the old governs while the new follows.

Magazine Arkitektur, Nr 6 2023 – Transformation, p. 44-55

Read the article by Arkitektur
Read more about Arkitektur Nr 6
Read more about Gjuteriet

Gjuteriet nominated for the Scandinavian Design Awards

KS transformation of the listed industrial building Gjuteriet in Malmö for Varvsstaden has been nominated for the Scandinavian Design Awards 2024 in the ‘Architecture of the Year’ category.

The Scandinavian Design Awards are an annual award initiated in 2023 to celebrate the best architecture, design and interiors in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland; and is a collaboration between Stockholm Furniture Fair and the publisher It Is Media.

This year’s edition takes place on 6th February in the iconic Blue Hall in the Stockholm City Hall during the Stockholm Design Week 2024. Nominees in all categories will be presented in a joint exhibition, open to the public during the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2024.

Think Tank 025: Envisioning better communities

What does the best of urban design and the future of towns & cities mean to us?

Scandinavian urban practice is currently at a high – flourishing both at home and abroad. Recent years have seen a hype around the development of our Nordic cities in relation to urban design, masterplanning, neighbourhood communities, the public good and sustainability. With an increasing demand for this way of thinking more widely – what is it about this approach to urbanism that is growing in influence and gaining international recognition?

We welcome some of the leaders in urban thinking and practice who are driving innovative approaches to the nature and quality of urban places, regenerating our built environments today and visioning the cities of the future. We are happy to host a panel with a broad perspective, bringing together Swedish and international experience.

KS designs new community landmark for Rosengård

Kjellander Sjöberg Architects, in collaboration with Rosengård fastigheter JV, are designing a new landmark for Törnrosen in Rosengård in Malmö. As part of the urban regeneration project Culture Casbah, it will deliver 60 new diverse homes, as well as activate public community content on the ground floor, directly connected to a new vibrant urban axis joining the entire district. The main objective is to create a more liveable, mixed, urban, green, and safe neighbourhood with human scale in focus where everyone feels at home.

KS have been involved in the regeneration of the area since 2021 and have actively worked with Rosengård fastigheter JV to introduce more accessible homes, retail units, workplaces and new spaces for meetings, culture, sport and play. During September, KS have participated in Malmö in the Making, a public initiative organized by the Malmö City Council, and arranged a number of public events, dialogues and guided walking tours of Rosengård.

Interview about Gjuteriet in RUM

– Gjuteriet in Malmö rises from the ruins. Kjellander Sjöberg Architects have preserved the past whilst at the same time written the next chapter in the history of the building and the area, writes Ellinor Thunberg in an extensive interview with KS Malmö Director Johan Pitura, published in the latest issue of the RUM magazine.

Kjellander Sjöberg’s transformation of Gjuteriet in Malmö for Varvsstaden is presented in the September issue of RUM – a Swedish magazine which informs, inspires and reflects on architecture, interior design and design. The comprehensive article highlights the collaborative process focused on resource-efficiency, extensive material re-use and circular strategies, aiming at preserving and revealing traces and memories which tell the story of the building.

Magazine RUM, September 2023, p. 135-142

Read the article by RUM
Read more about RUM
Read more about Gjuteriet
Read more about Think Tank 023: Gjuteriet

Faaborg: climate change adaptation activating the coastline

The coastal town of Faaborg in southern Denmark is currently facing major challenges – the most urgent being the high risk of flooding caused by climate change. Fully exposed to the sea, the low-lying medieval city is being threatened by rising sea levels and extreme rainfall. Most recently in October 2023, the water rose by 205 cm above sea level.

Appointed by Faaborg council, Kjellander Sjöberg and the Danish landscape practice LYTT Architecture are developing a climate-resilient masterplan to protect the historical town and its strong position as an attractive urban destination bordering UNESCO global geopark. The proposal will secure Faaborg using various innovative types of coastal defence techniques, adapted to the unique local character, and the part of the city built on reclaimed land is to receive a modified foundation. An underground culvert is to be transformed into an open channel where water can be regulated whilst recreating the original character of the landscape.

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.

Kjellander Sjöberg nominated for 2024 EUmies Awards

We are proud to announce that KS’s transformation of Gjuteriet for Varvsstaden has been nominated for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Awards 2024, seeking to achieve a thorough understanding of the transformation of Europe’s built environment and to recognise and commend excellence and innovation in the field of architecture.

The 2024 cycle will reflect on the current challenges that citizens, architects, clients, developers, policy makers and other professionals are faced with in the context of the European Green Deal. A total of 362 significant works realized all over 38 different European countries were submitted for the jury’s consideration which will now select 40 finalists. The winner will be announced in April 2024.

Read the official press release
Read more about EUmies Awards
Read more about Gjuteriet

Gjuteriet wins the Urban Design Award 2023 in Malmö

The old foundry building in the Kockum’s industrial heritage area in Malmö has been revived, and the significant landmark can thus live on. KS’s transformation project Gjuteriet for Varvsstaden has won the Urban Design Award 2023 arranged by Malmö City Council – an annual award which has been honouring highly sustainable and inclusive architecture and urban design for over 40 years.

Excerpt from jury’s verdict:
Through a series of clear and carefully considered moves, the former foundry in the Kockum’s area in Malmö has not only been reused, but also elevated as a significant cultural heritage of great importance it represents for the city. The new timber frame forming the interior spaces with a diverse programme has partially been suspended from the old traverse beams, providing them with a new function. This approach creates authenticity and at the same time keeps the ground floor free of loadbearing structures.

Gjuteriet published in DETAIL

Kjellander Sjöberg’s industrial heritage transformation project Gjuteriet in Malmö has been featured in the July-August issue of DETAIL – an international professional journal for architecture and construction details published in German and English which devotes every issue to specific topics in construction and building details in architecture.

We are proud to see the worldwide attention Gjuteriet has received, being recognised by the leading specialist for architecture and structural engineering DETAIL.

Gjuteriet – transformation of industrial heritage into a new creative workplace in Malmö built around social meeting and communal spaces, designed by Kjellander Sjöberg for Varvsstaden. Focused on the intensive re-use of repurposed materials, the project demonstrates how existing buildings can be reimagined based on circular principles.

DETAIL, Saving Space 7/8.2023, p. 4-6

KS finalist for the Urban Design Award 2023 in Malmö

Kjellander Sjöberg’s transformation project Gjuteriet in Varvsstaden in Malmö has been appointed as one of the three finalists for the Malmö City Urban Design Award 2023. We are delighted and look forward to 9th October when the award ceremony takes place.

Vibrant urban timber block in Sege Park

Sege Park, Kjellander Sjöberg’s innovative and climate-smart residential project in Malmö, developed in collaboration with Trianon, has been completed. The lush timber block won the innovation design competition Nordic Built Cities Challenge in 2016 under the name ‘It Takes a Block’. The scheme comprises 65 rental apartments above six flexible ground floors which can be adapted as needed over time and opened towards shared inner courtyards. The design is based on sharing resources and spaces to create climate-smart and affordable housing which improves quality of life of its residents. Generous communal courtyards with diverse green spaces form informal meeting places, spaces for activities and leisure. Urban farming, apple orchard and a local pocket park are some of the elements that aid in the densification of the newly built environment and bring additional value to create an inclusive, vibrant and attractive neighbourhood.

Think Tank 024: Rosengård – a neighbourhood for all

Local initiatives, communities, learning and culture

This edition of the KS Think Tank is a part of the Malmö in the Making initiative taking place during September 2023.

How do we make a neighbourhood for everyone? Focusing on the Rosengård district in Malmö, welcome to an open conversation about opportunities for local initiatives, better communities, learning, culture and entrepreneurship.

What obstacles are there in the physical environment that prevent kickstarting initiatives which bring people closer together and strengthen the local community, intensifying activities in shared meeting places? Where all ages are welcome and can find their place? Where children and young people feel seen and can contribute to their environment. How can we create places and opportunities for local entrepreneurship, small industries and workplaces? How can learning be accessible for all and evolve over time?

Which environment do we want and need?

Panel Guests:
Aisha Mossberg (Goto 10)
Laura Kieler (BRIQ)
Jenny Berg Nilson (Fryshuset)
Carin Daal (Stena Fastigheter)
Halimo Nuur Bashir (Rosengårds Folkets Hus)
Marcus Horning (Malmö City)

Time and place:
28th September – 5:00 pm
Design Built pavilion
Bennets väg 13
213 67 Malmö

Gjuteriet featured in Casabella

Kjellander Sjöberg’s transformation project Gjuteriet in Malmö has been published in the latest issue of the Italian architecture magazine Casabella. There has been a strong international interest in the project, and we are proud to see it receive attention in a comprehensive article by one of Europe’s most renowned architecture magazines.

Gjuteriet is a transformation project for Varvsstaden, located in the formerly industrial Kockum’s area in Malmö. It focuses on reuse and circular strategies with a long-term flexible structure that creates diverse spaces and meeting places to intensify urban activity. Gjuteriet has inspired several public talks and events, such as Think Tanks, Shop Talks and a series of international lectures.

CASABELLA, 949 settembre 2023 september, p. 41-47

KS lectures at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts

KS & Varvsstaden – transformation of industrial heritage

Featuring the revitalisation of Kockum’s formerly industrial area in Malmö and the example of Gjuteriet, Varvsstaden and Kjellander Sjöberg present their work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals through minimising resource consumption and impact on the climate caused by urban transformation and construction processes. How focusing on sustainable strategies and common goals early in the process is essential for the necessary transition as well as for the built result – architecture.

Focused on the intensive re-use of repurposed materials, the project demonstrates how existing buildings can be reimagined based on circular principles, introducing meeting places and urban activities. Preserving traces and memories of the place and historic forms of the building, a new neighbourhood is created where the present is tightly interwoven with the multifaceted story about the port’s rich maritime heritage.

Speakers:
Hanne Birk, Varvsstaden
Johan Pitura, Kjellander Sjöberg Architects

Time and place:
21st September 2023, 5:30 pm
Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts
Fredsgatan 12
Stockholm

Läs mer om föreläsningen
Läs mer om Gjuteriet

KS events – Malmö in the Making

Join us for a series of exciting conversations, arranged by Kjellander Sjöberg as a part of ‘Malmö in the Making’ – a public initiative organized by the Malmö City Council to explore, discuss and share insights into what the city with its public realm, architecture and culture means to its residents. ‘Malmö in the Making’ takes place during the entire month of September and seeks to investigate challenges Malmö faces today as it grows, and how can we contribute to shaping the future development of the city.

Kjellander Sjöberg has built an exhibition pavilion in Rosengård for meetings and public activities, and prepared a series of events – guided tours through the district focusing on its future ventures, and open discussions about the city organized as three informal Shop Talks and one larger Think Tank in the pavilion. All is free och charge and open for everyone.

12 Sep – Guided Tour Rosengård #1

15 Sep – Shop Talk 07: Ownership of the public realm / urban space?

19 Sep – Guided Tour Rosengård #2

22 Sep – Shop Talk 08: Urban development with children and youth

28 Sep – Think Tank 024: Rosengård – a neighbourhood for all

29 Sep – Shop Talk 09: What do we add to the already built environment?

Transformation Farsta: urban streets and quality of life

KS Architects in collaboration with the client Wallin Bostad are designing a new residential scheme at Magelungsvägen in Farsta in southern Stockholm. The site, close to the local centre and the Magelungen lake, currently dominated by infrastructure, is being transformed into a coherent, liveable neighbourhood with new residential typologies, active retail spaces and rich public realm. The design seeks to strengthen the unique character of the place, to interconnect the existing public housing and new links to the surrounding nature.

Farsta is one of Stockholm’s rapidly developing areas with distinct long-term goals in terms of sustainability and quality of life. The ambition of the new masterplan is to erase the current barriers and create more nuanced and safe urban spaces on a human scale, with more life and movement.

Read article from Mitt i Söderort (in Swedish)

KS in the UK featured in RUM

A great pleasure to read the latest edition of the RUM magazine where Ellinor Thunberg writes about KS practice in the UK. The article highlights three of our major masterplanning projects: Hartree – a new sustainable neighbourhood in Cambridge, Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community, and Meridian Water in London – a masterplan and urban regeneration project with a vision of micro-neighbourhoods and a green-blue network. Stefan Sjöberg and Angela Woda share visions, experiences from collaborations, and differences in the approach and work processes between the Swedish and the UK market. We are talking about ‘the Swedish Way’ – living smaller whilst getting more, the importance of quality of life within each neighbourhood and how to plan homes and cities where life can thrive long term.

RUM magazine, June 2023, p. 87-94

Read the article by RUM
Read more about Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community
Read more about Meridian Water
Read more about Hartree
Read more about RUM