Blog: Bo01 City of Tomorrow...

By Kirsten Kiser, Editor-In-Chief, arcspace.com

Photo: Kirsten Kiser
The Bo01site in Malmø, Sweden

At this moment the Bo01site in Malmö, Sweden looks like a miniature Potsdamer Platz.... There are containers, cranes, tractors, trucks, architects and construction workers everywhere getting ready for the May 17th Opening of Sweden's first International Housing Exhibition.

I have now been across the Øresund Bridge several times to follow the construction and meet with many of the architects and it will take more than one letter to tell you about Bo01 and all the exciting projects.
Take this letter as an introduction and come back to arcspace for more in depth features about the individual projects.....

Photo courtesy Bo01
Facing the Øresund Strait with the new Øresund bridge. In the background the Santiago Calatrava's " Turning Torso"

The aim of the exhibition is to create a debate centered around how we live today and how we will live in the future. The Bo01 exhibition will show imaginative visions of future living, where high demands on aesthetics, ecology and high technology are combined with placing man in the center.

The inspiration comes from antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Baroque period and from the 20th century. The scale of the interior of the area takes its precedents from typical northern European cities; low, tight, intimate and efficient in the use of area.
It is also reminiscent of IBA (International Building Exhibition) started in Berlin in 1979 to promote urban development on a human scale of high artistic quality.
With the united Berlin many of the IBA areas, completed in 1987, are now in the middle of the city.

The location of the permanent housing at Västra Hamnen, a former industrial area by the sea, is unique as it is within walking distance to both the city center and the beach.

The Master Plan takes advantage of the magnificent site; the ocean, the expanse of the sky, the horizon, the western sunset and, by placing slightly larger buildings towards the sea, the area is also protected from the very strong western wind.

Greenery and water will be visible from all dwelling units. Parks are planned in attractive locations; Strandparken (Beach park) in the very beautiful, but windswept western location, and Kanalparken (Canal park) in the center, sheltered alongside the newly dug canal. To the west there is Kajpromenaden (Quai Side promenade), on the borderline between the site and the sea, for pedestrians and cyclists. A new Marina occupies a sheltered bay towards the south. The landscaping will be designed by several well known landscape architects.

The buildings of Bo01 are the first part in the transformation of the former industrial area and some of Europe's well known architects have been selected by each individual developer to create the exciting new environment.
In addition to the more established architects several young promising architects have been selected for the project.

Sketch courtesy Ralph Erskine

Ralph Erskine Architect Planner AB, Stockholm, Sweden
Developer: NCC Bostad Syd

The six-storey building stands at the north-west corner of the site facing the harbor. The softly rounded roof-line of varying height gives the image of an archipelago against the greenery of the main roof. Under the vaulted roof are duplex apartments with generous windows and private roof terraces facing the Øresund Strait.

Photo courtesy Karmebäck and Krüger
Karmebäck and Krüger, Berlin, Germany.
Developer: Packwerk Bygg och Fastigheter AB

In designing the six terraced houses the architects were inspired by the old warehouse buildings that line the quay sides of so many European ports and also by the boat houses of a Bohuslän fishing village.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser. Kim Dalgaard and Tue Trærup Madsen
Dalgaard and Madsen Architects, Copenhagen, Denmark
Developer: Skanska Nya Hem

The very latest technology in the timber construction have inspired the two young Danish architects to design the City of Tomorrow's timber 32 apartment housing complex; situated next to the new canal.

P.S. More details about these and the rest of the projects later.