Hammarby Sjöstad/Sustainable City

Sustainable City spans the area around Stockholm’s Hammarby sjö (Lake Hammarby), covering Södra Hammarbyhamnen as well as parts of Södermalm. By 2017, the district will expand to include around 11,000 residences, housing over 25,000 inhabitants. The district forms a natural expansion of Stockholm’s inner city area, something that has influenced its architecture, infrastructure and urban development plan.

The Olympic village dream

From the start, planners envisioned the new district as an Olympic village. The idea was to create a sustainable neighborhood over the worn-down Hammarby harbor and industrial area. This development could have supported Sweden’s bid to host the 2004 Olympic Games. However, events took a different turn. By then, the vision for Hammarby Sjöstad had already taken shape—an environmentally friendly inner-city district offering modern housing for thousands of Stockholmers.

Photo: K-A Larsson

Photo: K-A Larsson

Photo: K-A Larsson

From master plan to GlashusEtt

Our involvement in the development of Sustainable City stretches all the way back to 1997. Among other things, we have worked on the in-depth master plan for the entire area and several zoning plans, including documentation, as well as the detailed planning and configuration programme for over 2,400 apartments as well as public spaces, workplaces, amenities and much more.

We’ve also designed GlashusEtt, the City of Stockholm’s first environmental information centre, which has generated a great deal of attention, both in Sweden and globally, since it was opened in 2002. The centre provides information about the Sjöstad environmental programme, among other ventures, with considerable dedication, and has inspired other cities around the world to follow a similar path.

A transparent building controls and showcases key elements of the area’s environmental technology. In the cellar, it houses an automated vacuum collection tank and a rectifier station for the Tvärbanan link. The building operates through a complex environmental technology system. It uses impulse-controlled heat pumps, ventilators, convectors, and blinds. A biogas boiler, weather station, and solar cell technology are also integrated into the system.

The ultimate objective was to reduce total environmental impact by 50%, in comparison to a typical area constructed at the start of the 1990s.

The Hammarby model

The development of Sustainable City transformed the vision of a sustainable urban district into a detailed environmental program. The ultimate objective was to reduce total environmental impact by 50%, in comparison to a typical area constructed at the start of the 1990s. However, more stringent environmental demands required a completely new set of solutions. This included a closed-loop system – the Hammarby model – with solutions for energy, waste, water and sewerage.

Kasper Salin Prize winner in 2005

In 2005, Hammarby Sjöstad (Sickla Quay, Sickla Canal and Sjöstadsparterren) received the Kasper Salin Prize, one of the finest distinctions in Swedish architecture. This prize also recognised our involvement in the urban development plan for Sickla Quay. Here is an excerpt from the award statement:

”In recognition of an expertly integrated district in a beautiful city space, where urban intensity contrasts with soothing greenery and water. Through a sound balance between content, scale and infrastructure, a human touch has been harnessed in a large, complex context.”

Furthermore, you can read more about Hammarby Sjöstad at the City of Stockholm website.