Hans Willehader, the new business development manager for KS region south

Effective from 1st April 2018, Hans Willehader is the new business development manager at Kjellander Sjöberg’s Malmö office. The new role marks a positive addition to the KS’s practice and enhances its presence in southern Sweden. Hans has extensive experience in project management and creative and business development in offices such as Arkitema, BIG and White in Sweden and Denmark.

What will be your focus at Kjellander Sjöberg?

I will focus on strengthening KS’s presence and position in southern Sweden, which is very exciting and engaging! We have already received several positive reactions from the market, something inspiring to bring into the further development of the practice.

What does your new role at KS represent?

I’m looking forward to being part of, and to further develop the strong architectural milieu and the vibrant society-oriented discourse that characterize KS. From my perspective, sustainability-related design approach is an increasingly important aspect of the built environment and our projects. A growing part of the market actors see this as an important foundation in all processes. And those we want to attract to KS as collaborators!

What are the biggest future challenges for architecture offices working in southern Sweden?

Although the market in southern Sweden, and in Stockholm, is slightly cooler right now, I see a bright future and believe that there will be plenty of assignments within different parts of the business; for example, refurbishment and renovation projects. One of the key issues for us at KS is to ensure/establish a wide project portfolio. If the residential market cools down even more, we will offer architects experienced in the whole process and in other areas, such as urban planning, educational and commercial projects. It is also important that we continue to develop the close relations between our offices in Malmö, Stockholm and London, keeping a common culture, principal views and flexibility enabling exchange of experiences and skills.

I am very positive about KS’s future as a unique and creative architectural practice, attracting even more of talented people in the upcoming years and working on new and exciting projects.

Focus on hybrid architecture and industrial heritage

Our Team Superlocal comprising of Kjellander Sjöberg, Förstberg Ling and We Made That has been selected by the developers Skanska Fastigheter and Riksbyggen, in collaboration with Malmö City Council and process management by Gunilla Kronvall, to partake in an innovative, forward-looking, and exciting parallel assignment for Trollhättan 6 on Universitetsholmen in Malmö.

The brief’s main aspiration is to explore the use of existing resources, hybrid architecture and an ambitious sustainability agenda. The design should enhance Malmö’s special character and become an exemplar in highlighting industrial heritage. Trollhättan 6 is to become a mixed urban block with new workplaces and homes, providing central areas and meeting places that activate the urban realm.

We are looking forward to working with the jury and our amazing colleagues: Holly Lewis, co-founding partner of We Made That in London as critical advisor. Björn Förstberg, founder of Förstberg Ling in Malmö, winner of the Housing Award 2023 for Twelve Houses.

Our Team Superlocal will investigate the site conditions, its role and character, and how to create a more inclusive neighbourhood and a sense of belonging for people and businesses in the neighbourhood.

The assignment will be preceded by a series of workshops where participating architects, together with the organizers, examine and discuss central issues of the development and design.

Hartree shortlisted for the Pineapples for Community Engagement

The Pineapples are the only awards that celebrate the very best in placemaking and place-led initiatives, with an exciting programme and a commitment to recognising projects that make a positive social, environmental and economic impact.

Kjellander Sjöberg are leading the masterplan and design programme, which have been driven by the core of the engagement approach, building a process to form trust and a genuine relationship with the community and involve them in the design of Hartree. The engagement workstreams have been led by our wonderful clients TOWN. & LandsecU+I together with ECF and landowners Cambridge City Council and Anglian Water Services.

Championing the key principles of people, city and planet, the vision for Hartree is to create a place that has positive social, economic and environmental impact built around a pioneering 5-minute neighbourhood which will give local people everything they need to thrive, within just a five-minute walk or cycle away. Focusing on the human experience, it will be a walkable, inclusive low-carbon new neighbourhood that will play a part in shaping the city’s future.

Gjuteriet nominated for the Kasper Salin Prize 2024

‘Through diligent work with reuse, the old shipyard ruin has been transformed into a multifaceted workspace building, preserving the history of the site with its architecture whilst exploring new means of expression. The project embraces diversity and variation, and its articulation is informed by the relationships between original, reused, and new materials.’ From the jury’s report.

The prize is awarded annually by Architects Sweden to a recently completed building of high architectural quality to stimulate and disseminate good examples. Gjuteriet in Malmö is one of the four nominees for the Kasper Salin Prize which is considered the most prestigious award in the country. The winner will be revealed at the Architecture Gala on 9th April.

Gjuteriet is a transformation project; a reimagination of an industrial heritage focusing on circular strategies and a high degree of material reuse in the former Kockum’s shipyard area in Malmö. The project is designed by Kjellander Sjöberg for Varvsstaden, in collaboration with the contractor PEAB and the tenant Oatly.

Read jury's report (in Swedish)
Read more about Kasper Salin Prize 2024 (in Swedish)
Read more about Gjuteriet

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.