Challenges
The central, conspicuous location of the site is both a challenge and a great asset. There are several aspects to be taken into consideration when adding to the place. This presentation describes how we are handling some of them.

Townscape, architectural expression
With a site like this, our project has every chance of becoming a profile project for the City of Stockholm. Our aim is to give Stockholm an architectural pearl of price with a contemporary identity of its own. In addition, we want to develop the existing square into an attractive piazza by taking good care of the area and putting non-housing premises into the bottom storey.

Bolinders Plan
The project is located in Bolinders Plan, a bare 350 metres from the Central Station. The land, owned by the City of Stockholm, is a turnaround point at the end of Kaplansgatan. Kungsklippan is east of the plot, and a flight of steps connects Kungsholmskyrkoplan with Bolinders Plan. The purpose of the scheme is to provide infill housing development on the site and to activate the site by improving the ground conditions and giving the bottom storeys non-housing premises.

Traffic and parking
Traffic, stopping and parking arrangements are needed both to and within the property. In order for the project to be possible, traffic will have to be managed in the same way as at present, i.e. with a turnaround point at the end of Kaplansgatan. The existing bus stop will be left in situ.

Piping and ducting
There are a number of conduits, e.g. for electricity and district heating, under the plot. Development of the plot will require certain mains to be relocated and/or made accessible.

1. Footprint
The volume of the building is limited by its relation to Kungsklippan and Kungsholmsgatan and by a respectful distance from existing buildings round about. The height of the building interacts with the Kungsklippan tower blocks.

2. Bottom storey
The elevated bottom storey will be pulled back to make room for the Kaplansgatan turnaround point, which has been shifted further southwest and enlarged to meet present-day requirements of access and refuse handling. A three-storey automatic garage is accessed from the turnaround point. The bottom storey has been given additional headroom so as to accommodate public premises.

3. Vistas
The volume of the building is gauged so as to preserve vistas from surrounding places and buildings in the direction of Klara Sjö the downtown (“City”) area and also to give the building a character of its own.

4. Expression and architecture
The building tapers upwards, so as to make a more slender and elegant, but at the same time playful, impression. This arrangement will give the top flats generous roof terraces with a fantastic view.

The building has a compact footprint – roughly 20×13 meters at its widest point. This shape has been dictated by the physical preconditions (the street, the rocky eminence and the surrounding settlement) and by the new turnaround point. This latter will be moved slightly further south, to provide additional space for new building development. The size of the new turnaround point (18 meters in diameter) is gauged according to present-day access and refuse-handling requirements. Car access will be via Kaplansgatan. The stairwell will be accessed from Kungsholmsgatan or through the passage between the building and the rock.

Parking comprises 9 parking spaces in an automatic parking garage and two spaces on the ground outside the building. The bottom storey also includes two small units for public activities. The cycle path will be rerouted between the building and Kungsklippan, while the bus stop will remain in its present position. There are several pipes and ducts passing underneath the plot. The existing main district heating will be left in situation and will be accessed through the building’s basement. Other conduits beneath the building can be relocated.

The height of the building interacts with the tower blocks on Kungsklippan, the total height from Kungholmsgatan being about 55 metres and 17 storeys. The volume is made more slender by its section being modified so as to preserve, in the best possible way, existing views from Kungsklippan and from surrounding buildings. The recesses made will also make possible a number of private terraces.