Read the blog post detailing the background for this project: Göteborg vs Göta älv - a short history of the riverfront form
As Gothenburg, once again, has decided to rebuild it’s river edge with the artificial peninsula of Masthuggskajen, it has chosen to mimic the form of the industrial port city with hard quays and heavy materials, even though it is obvious that no ships are meant to be moored here. The real reason to build it this way is that it “signifies” trends in urban planning discourse: orderly “city block typology,” waterfront boardwalks, and river access. It is anachronistic - and very far from sustainable.
When Gothenburg was first founded in the 1600s, the river edge looked very different. Around the fortifications, huge areas of marshlands called “stadsvassarna”- urban reeds - remained, even as the city grew. While marshes and lowlands have traditionally been seen as a source of problems by agricultural societies, we now know that they provide invaluable services.
Marshlands often make up some of the most productive and biodiverse ecosystems. An ornithological guide from the 1950s even described it as “formerly Europes most fertile hunting grounds for birds”. When reshaping the river-city interface again, could we use the urban reeds as our model?
As we are facing a global anthropocenic crisis of biodiversity, urban redevlopment projects have a responsibility to be not only neutral, but to be regenerative. While a local restoration of of the urban reedlands might seem too little too late, it would offer habitats for several vulnerable species.The strategic location in the Göta Älv delta would help migrating species such as salmon and the dangerously threatened eel which depend upon brackish, shallow habitats close to the ocean for juvenile fish to grow and play.
The urban layout of this corner of Masthuggskajen revolves around using the same amount of filling material as the real world project but instead creating a shallow marshland ecosystem, with towers on piers to create as much natural area as possible. The towers are connected by walkways, giving the public access to this “blue park” - an exciting kind of public space which the central city lacks today.
The tower design is based around the principal of passive energy use and natural heating and cooling. Large, south facing glazed balconies offer a great deal of passive heating in the winter but provide shade in the summer. With the stairwell being unheated it acts as a great ventilation shaft, utilizing the chimney effect to naturally move the inside air.
The plan of the tower is designed to give each apartment access to solar heating, river views and throughdraft potential.
