Project Details
- Project Name
- S:t Erik Indoor Park
- Location
- Sweden
- Architect
- Utopia Arkitekter
- Client/Owner
- Utopia Ideas
- Project Scope
- New Construction
- Size
- 16,145 sq. feet
- Year Completed
- 2017
- Shared by
- Symone Garvett
- Project Status
- Concept Proposal
Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
The strong focus in recent years on production of new homes has increasingly meant that we have devoted far too little attention to what is happening between the buildings and with our public spaces. S:t Erik's indoor park is a concrete proposal for how we want to create a non-commercial public indoor environment for play, socialising, contemplation and cultural experiences which can be used for a large part of the day, all year round. The park is the first in a series of proposals for Stockholm's development, which we are calling Utopia Ideas. The project is co-financed by the Swedish Federation of Glazing Contractors (Glasbranschföreningen) and the Swedish Wood Building Council (Träbyggnadskansli).
S:t Erik's indoor park is a public space for play, socialising, contemplation and cultural experiences. A completely ordinary park, though under a roof, where we all have access on equal terms. The park offers vegetation, warmth and a welcoming environment, all year round and for a large part of the day.
The controlled indoor environment makes the indoor park attractive as a place for functions and activities which are currently difficult to accommodate during the cold and dark part of the year. We believe that the park here can meet a major need in both the local area as well as throughout the city.
S:t Erik's indoor park is constructed in the form of a load-bearing laminated timber construction clad in vaulted glass. The park building consists of a total of six linked ellipsoid-like volumes of varying size and shape. The slender wooden beams make the buildings' facades almost completely transparent, at the same time as the internal column-like sections are closer together, giving the elevated volumes a sense of stable anchorage.
Today's underground exit on the other side of Odengatan's extension has been replaced with an entrance building which is a companion to the ”main building”. The entrance building creates a powerful visual connection with the main building and strengthens S:t Eriksplan's overall identity as the site for the city's only indoor park.
The wood and glass materials produce a light and elegant building which, with its verdant interior and abundant lighting, will stand out as a landmark in the cityscape. The park is strongly integrated with its surroundings and easily accessible for the general public in purely physical terms. Entrances and passages are generous, welcoming and clearly linked to surrounding pedestrian routes.
The building will be some 23 metres tall, at a level with the eaves of adjacent buildings, and will have an area of about 1,500 square metres.