ABSTRACT: REPURPOSING THE UNWANTED - 300 TEMPORARY APARTMENTS IN MARIEVIK A 1980’s office block is threatened with demolition, leaving space for high-end housing. Through presenting decisionmakers with a choice and demanding action, I suggest a new future for this unwanted architecture. The 32.000 sq m building is turned into 300 temporary rental apartments, following a strong structural logic to keep investment low. The found structure is used as a tool for contrasting the mainstream housing development of today, caring for urban diversity, ecology and coexistence. The thesis project investigates if and how the repurposing of structures not meant for residential use into apartments can be a tool to challenge accelerating segregation.
SITE: MARIEVIK Established as Stockholm’s first suburb in the 1860’s, workers’ housing and residential shacks sprung up in Årstadal, providing the industries in Liljeholmen with labour. In 1928, as the new Årsta bridge lead the main railway north of the area, many industries moved, and the housing fell into disrepair. Lighter industries gradually took over. In 1980, the big regeneration into an office district began in Marievik, while Årstadal remained industrial for 20
more years. PROPERTY: MARIEVIK 15 The first house built in the regeneration, on the site of old railway workshops, was Marievik 15 and as such it bears a strong symbolic value. It was commissioned by the biggest Swedish newspaper, Dagens Nyheter - not for the paper’s operation, but for leasing. At the time, this was a new kind of property development. Initially the plans were all open, the internal structure has been added to meet every tenant’s needs. Although planned for mixed office and light industry, production was quickly replaced by just bureau. This typology still influences our understanding of offices. The building also has a high architectural value, classified by the city as culturally valuable. Anders Berg’s and Erik Thelaus’ creation was one of the very first in hightech architecture, mixing modernism while meeting the demands of the energy crisis. As of today, the property owner is a subsidiary to a big pension insurance company, whose primary interest is to get high return on invested capital. CURRENT DEVELOPMENT AND CRITIQUE As a new wave of demolishing sweep Stockholm, precious post-modern office architecture like Marievik 15 are replaced
by high-end condominiums. This is also the case here: As office leasing is getting less profitable, the demand for housing in attractive locations rise. The property owner has started working on a scheme including 300 apartments and some shops in a new building. This is problematic given what happens in the area. In just eight years, the area south of Marievik has been developed with high-end housing of the same type, now putting pressure on the post-modern office area. The 3000 apartments in Årstadal has been developed all by the same company, spreading its monotone urban fabric. There is a strong conformism as to what an attractive residential situation is, helping to drive a commodification of housing. This development makes every other aspect of the city except the private sphere secondary. Not much can be known for certain about what architecture will be considered attractive in public opinion tomorrow. What we do know is that all architecture passes through a phase of unwantedness, and that urban diversity and complexity is appreciated, and that earlier waves of demolition have always been heavily criticised. It seems we are blind to the qualities of one architectural era at the time - and today, we lack appreciation for houses like Marievik 15. Demolishing it would be an inconsequent blow to values yet to be realized. Demolishing is also problematic from an ecological perspective. The building is only 30 years old, holds high technical standard and has few problems. Just demolishing the approximately 20.000 cubic meters of concrete it contains is an extreme loss of energy and raw material.
This project is about saving this valuable puzzle piece for the future city. I must convince decision-makers to deny the change in the masterplan needed for the redevelopment. Given that the building is saved, however, a permit for repurposing can be granted. This means putting the public opinion and will of the property owner aside for the respect of qualities yet unknown. For the property owner, this decision would mean a loss of expected profit. Thus, too save the building for a future where its qualities are once again wanted and as such profitable, I search for a way of getting a reasonably profitable temporary use. I argue that this is done best through temporary, high density rental apartments. The layout of the office building puts constraints on the type of apartments possible, guaranteeing that the outcome will increase urban diversity also structurally. I can fit 300 apartments into the building - just as many as the developer wanted. In order to balance financial interest in the privately owned city, the democratic power needs to be presented with an alternative future. We must not miss this possibility of empowering the public, taking over initiatives for the future city. My conclusion of the thesis project is twofold: that society have strong tools to counter segregation if there is political will, even without changing the economical logic of architecture and building, and that the time of the architect student, who can spend time researching such possibilities is important and should be spent challenging the possible.
Johan Alvfors: Repurposing the Unwanted - 300 temporary appartments in Marievik (degree project). Studio #2, supervised by Anders Wilhelmsson, Tor Lindstrand and Erik Wingquist. Contact: johan@alvfors.se, +46 (0) 730-50 37 72