Friday, December 12, 2008

Stockholm’s Revitalized Green City Center









via inhabitat

A joint project between the Swedes at Nod Landscape Architects and Danes at BIG Architects is set to transform Slussen, Stockholm’s city center, with a massive pedestrian-friendly makeover. Currently Slussen is an interwoven mess of roads with no room for pedestrians or cyclists. The proposed project will transform the area into a multi-layered, multi-use intersection allowing walkers and bikers access to waterfront strolls and gas-free travel. The layered design will also incorporate shops and cafes, reviving Stockholm’s main artery.
The Stockholm City Council invited the two design teams to recreate Slussen, a intersection they refer to as “a black hole in the heart of Stockholm”, and form a pleasant connection between the neighborhoods on each side. Auto and train traffic will be rerouted underground, leaving the ramped surface area free for evening strolls and cappuccino peddlers. Bicycle lanes will line the promenade along the waterfront.
Glass windows will dot the surface of the promenades for two-way lighting. In the daytime, sunlight will soak through to lower levels to reduce the need for interior lamps, and in the evening, when the underground areas are lit up, ambient light will flow up to the surface speckling the urban nightlife with bursts of light. This light sharing between levels will help keep energy costs to a minimum.

The superb animation below illustrates the lighting effect and gives a tour of each point of the design. Currently, the project is in its second stage of development and undergoing evaluations by Stockholm’s city council.

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