Urban development
A town is a place for meetings between people, for accommodation, work and trade in goods and services. The town is the basis for our commercial sector and for culture. The increasingly large urban regions are where most of us live and work. Demand for urban areas is very great, both from the commercial sector and from housing. Quite simply we need more town.
Integrated urban development requires an insight into functions, buildings and contexts, as well as into the processes that formally and informally lead to its implementation. Here at White, we have been involved in urban planning at various levels for many years. We are now witnessing a new form of urban planning starting to take shape. We need to develop the ‘midway town’ – the town between town centres and outlying areas, the town between different outlying areas, the town along communication routes – into a functioning whole comprising new, attractive urban landscapes.
Urban planning places demands on the design skills and visualisation capacity of the architects’ office. We also have the depth and the breadth that are required in order to be a professional player in urban planning processes. We can combine the skills of the architect, the landscape architect, the planning architect and the process manager. We work with both large and small projects, acting as a consultant and propounder on behalf of both local authorities and private stakeholders. Last year we were awarded the Planpriset prize for our work on the transformation of Vällingby Centre. We are currently working on projects including Angered Centre, the area around Bällstaviken in Stockholm, the Damsgårdssundet area in Bergen and Hannemansparken in Copenhagen.
We make use of our internal knowledge network in urban planning projects. We also build up external networks in order to collaborate in an appropriate manner with experts in fields such as traffic, commerce and urban economy. Together with our customers and business partners, we aim to achieve attractive living environments and more town for our time.
Vällingby Centre
Vällingby Centre is once more serving as a model for the open city centre and the natural meeting place for the whole of Västerort in Stockholm. This is Vällingby’s biggest make-over for 50 years, making it as attractive now as it was when it opened in 1954.
In this major renovation and development scheme currently taking place in Vällingby Centre, we are responsible for the ultimate configuration and co-ordination of the various components of the project. We are responsible for the planning and design of the land in the whole of the centre. Part of the work involves repaving the streets to give them their unique circular paving-stone pattern. We are also responsible for the planning of two sub-areas that incorporate parking facilities, trade premises, offices/hotel and residential properties.
Vällingby was awarded the Planpriset prize in 2006.
Contact: Owe Swanson
Customer: Svenska Bostäder
Hannemansparken, Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Scandinavia’s largest city, is continuing to grow. Ørestad, south of the centre, will be creating homes for more than 20,000 people, and over the next 20 years the district will be transformed from the town planners’ vision into a dynamic and attractive part of Denmark’s capital city.
Most of the housing will be situated in Ørestad Syd (South). At least 10,000 people will move into this district, where the mix of housing, schools, shops, offices, sports facilities and public institutions will generate activity and life 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They will find Copenhagen’s largest natural area right outside their door, while the underground will depart for Copenhagen City every five minutes.
The heart of Ørestad Syd will be Hannemannsparken, an area comprising a mixture of buildings to be let out in various ways. The aim is to create a diverse urban environment. We decided to collaborate with the Dutch firm MVRDV from Rotterdam, an office that specialises in radical and innovative urban development projects and which is now responsible for the implementation of the project.
Contact: Claus Jørgensen
Customer: Nordkranen A/S
Angered Centre
We have participated in a parallel commission for the City Planning Authority in the City of Göteborg, in collaboration with Omniagruppen Fastighetsförvaltning AB, the Property Management Administration, Angered Local Hospital and the Sports and Associations Administration. The assignment related to the regeneration and development of Angered Centre and its immediate surroundings. The task included creating a new square, premises for extended shopping, a local hospital, housing and an ice and swimming hall. All in all, the proposal covers approximately 125,000 square metres of new BTA.
Participants in the assignment included Liljewall Arkitekter AB, Radar Arkitektur och Planering AB and White. Out of these three, the judging group recommended that White’s proposal should form the basis for the continued programme work.
Contact: Jonas Zetterberg
Customer: City Planning Authority, City of Göteborg
Bergen, Norway
In the Damsgårdssundet area, Norway’s second city will create what is being referred to as the city district of the future, modelled on Hammarby Sjöstad.
We have developed a quality programme for the district and are now designing one of the first blocks to be erected in the area, which with its discontinued factories and rough industrial environment is reminiscent of the old area where Hammarby Sjöstad is now situated. Our block in Damsgårdssundent includes some 70 apartments, two shops, a playing-ground at the top of a five-storey building, a three-storey garage and a large culture and leisure centre. The block is situated in steep mountain terrain, which has inspired the roof form.
Contact: Mats Egelius
Customer: Bergen Local Authority
Picture: White View
Tianjin, China
In Tianjin, China’s fourth-largest city, the provincial government has decided to refurbish and restore the old area of XianNong.
On behalf of our client Peak Towers Property Holding, we will be working on a project covering 50,000 square metres, where almost SEK 1 billion will be invested in housing, a school, offices, shops, a clubhouse with a swimming hall and an underground service facility. Our task is to act as architectural consultants and to ensure that the project achieves Scandinavian quality levels, both as regards the planning and the restoration of the historical buildings. At the same time, the new buildings will be adapted to the historical ones, representing a significant part of the project. When it comes to restoration, we will be working with the local design institute and the city of Tianjin’s structural antiquarian authority.
Most of this area will be restored, although some new construction is planned. XianNong will function for a modern lifestyle and will contain well planned environmental solutions, for example when it comes to energy, waste management and water treatment.
Contact: Viktor Galavits
Customer: Peak Towers Property Holding