Studio Housing: Flying Elements

F LY I N G E L E M E N T S An Exhibition by the Housing Studio at KTH School of Architectre

October 24 - December 11 2019

Contents 1

Flying Elements

3

Students and Teachers Involved

4

Timeline of Panel Mass Housing Buildings around Europe

6

Three Housing Projects by Ralph Erskine

8

Constructing Architecture, two Thematics of Experimentation

11

Designing for the Common and the Private

12 Bibliography

14

Högdalen High and Low 16

Högdalen, Markelius and post-war suburban development in Stockholm

18

Fake Panels as Ornaments

20 Bibliography

22

Let’s try Something New...

24

Moving Walls and Folding Beds

27

Östberga and the Death of the Craftsman

29

Słuzewiec - From Village Through Industry to Offices

32

Östberga and Słuzewiec

35 Bibliography

36

Västra Orminge 38

The S66 Group

40

Orminge, Cumbernauld and Albertslund New Towns or Townscape?

42

50 Years of Living in Orminge Through 5 Newspaper Articles

44 Bibliography

46

Skarne System in Tensta

48

The Role we Play

52

Diversity Within an Industrial System

54

Judge Less and Learn More The Living Conditions in Tensta

56 Bibliography

58

Potkovica + Lyulin 60

Turning the Corner in Socialist Bulgaria

62

Half a Century Living

64 Bibliography

66

Brandbergen and Storstugan 68

Owning the Right to Dwell?

70

HSB’s Design Contributions

72

Designing and living with A-System

74 Bibliography

76

A story of Scale - DrottninghĂśg and Marzahn

78

The Role of the Architect in the GDR

80

Plan to Panels - Panels to Plan

82

Panel Reuse Potentials

84

Possibilities of Panel Reuse in Sweden

86 Bibliography

Flying Elements An in-depth study of Swedish prefabricated housing projects in relation to some international examples in Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, USSR, Poland and Germany.

One way of understanding architecture involves looking at the existing built environment through archival material and research. Our research in this exhibit explores mass housing solutions from several perspectives, such as prefabrication, material technology, tectonics and sustainability as well as portraying historical circumstances and living conditions. One focus has been to understand the implications of the Welfare State housing production. While we believe there are many lessons to be learned from this particular point in time in Sweden, we also argue for a broader understanding of the vast network of mass housing developments across the globe.

Why does the automated production of housing still remain aesthetically similar?

How much of the social challenge of Post War mass housing environments rests in their architecture? When will the Housing Question be answered?

Building in the face of climate change urges us to seriously (re-)consider how to build with systems and materials. By mapping, analyzing, and recreating a catalogue of housing environments, their structural similarities as well as contextual differences may give vital clues to some of the unanswered questions of emergent and contemporary housing issues.

1

Students Ellen Forsberg Lisa Enbom Patrik Vikberg Bolun Liu Ellinor Karlander Elina Paakkulainen Kinga Zemla Hongyu Wan Léo Friedmann Niklas Dierks Anton Tonchev Lejla Rizvani Sigrun Borgen Johannes Hackethal Tobias Lundgren Elin Monie Landerö Adam Holm Huo Bingrong Oscar Wilner Anna Melander Erik Sjöberg Alva Karsalo Dahlbäck Sherin Roth

Teachers Erik Stenberg Frida Rosenberg

3

Timeline of panel mass housing buildings around Europe Dashed lines show the design process while the arrow lines - the building years. The thickness of the lines represents the number of apartments per project. The geographical distribution of the case scenarios is signified by the different color use and the dots represent later interventions.

Timeline of Panel Mass Housing Buildings Dashed lines show the design process while the arrow lines - the building years. The thickness of the lines represent the number of apartments per project. The geographical distribution of the case scenarios is signified by the different colour use and the dots represent later interventions.

each ring represents 100 apartemnts

1960

1970

1980

around Europe

Byker Wall, Newcastle

Ortdrivaren Lassaskog Östberga Służewiec, Warsaw Farsta

Högdalen

Carl Bosch Siedlung, Frankenthal Västra Orminge “Paronet” - Tensta Marzahn, Berlin Drottninghög Storstugan

Brandbergen

Potkovica, Belgrade Lyulin, Sofia

1990

2000

2010

Bo Bouvin (on the right), Nils Kjellström and Ralph Erskine in Lassaskog, Växjö

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Three Housing Projects by Ralph Erskine Léo Friedmann Niklas Dierks The departure for this study is the idea that with time comes experience and knowledge, and that an architect’s set of tools are in constant development, project after project. When researching Ralph Erskine, we grew an interest in three of his housing projects that were built one after the other. In a sense, we tried to establish a chronology to get an understanding of his work. Of course, a peek at the Växjö Lassaskog estate (1954) could paint an image of the architect’s early work, but a closer look at the elements by which it is composed may inform us about the character of his architectural language throughout the years that will follow. Thus, drawing from the experience of the Växjö residence, we identified elements that originally form this building and we compared them with elements of a project in Kiruna, Sweden (1962) and a project in Byker, Newcastle (1975). This allowed us to form the portrait of a human architect, deeply engaged in his art and science and with an interest for the social, the technical and the environmental.

By looking at the Växjö project in the scope of Erskine’s career places one’s self in a perspective where earlier projects could be understood as testbeds for later ideas. In other words, observing the process and maturation of the architect´s work relates to the idea of a scientific method of hypothesis and experiment. Therefore, one could argue that Ralph Erskine’s interest in technique and blurry division of the architect’s and engineer’s roles resonate in compelling ways in regards to the chronologic advancement of his projects.

By analyzing elements of the building, we will develop these arguments in the following text: ‘Building architecture, Erskine’s history of experiments’ Erskine’s main concern throughout his projects was designing for the common. In each design, he integrates his vision of how an arctic community is structured in a social way and how shared spaces can gain value by highlighting materiality and color.

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THREE HOUSING PROJECTS BY RALPH ERSKINE

Constructing Architecture, two Thematics of Experimentation Léo Friedmann Ralph Erskine, an architect or an engineer? — Collecting and analyzing archival material from the work of Ralph Erskine frames an interesting picture. It gives the image of a professional in a colloquial and enthusiastic relation with his collaborators as well as a depiction of an architect with a passionate interest in his field. A passion that goes beyond the traditional architect/engineer divide, in that one can trace and experience his will for innovation and melioration, across all aspects of his built and unbuilt works.

To illustrate this vision of an architect experimenting and developing his ideas through building and collaboration, I have chosen to mention two perspectives. The first one is considering his interest in building technique while the second one focuses on his use of color: 1. An experiment with technique – a history of technological development Facts and chronology Around forty different elements were used for the facade of the six units at Lassaskog. They boast a characteristic rib, an 8 cm thickness and are left with the color of concrete. All holes in the panels were made off-site, with peculiarities like ventilation grills already accounted for.

The largest and most common panel there covers a surface of 3.9*4.2m, which represents the complete facade of one module/room. The structure of the Växjö estate is made of concrete walls and slabs cast on site. Before the prefabricated exterior walls are mounted on the house, the joinery is moved into their respective booths with the help of the cranes. In the Kiruna project, most ground-floor concrete and detailing is in-situ cast with wooden sideboards. These boards leave a rich organic pattern on the surface of the material when removed. Similarly to Växjö, the facade elements are prefabricated off-site. There, the pattern used is more expressive and allows to curve the whole building into segments. As a result, the process is more demanding, requiring thirteen panels to cover the surface one panel covered in the Växjö project. The structure of the Kiruna project can be seen as a cornerstone in Ralph Erskine’s development towards the prefabrication of structural elements. While in-situ cast concrete walls act as bracing, precast columns liberate the facade from any structural function. When at Byker, some ten years later, Erskine distanced himself from the use of prefabricated panels for the facade.

I believe the British context of the rise of criticism of post-war housing might have changed his strategy. Here, the architect is making use of industrialized facade materials for cladding such as corrugated metal panels. He also accounts for the local craft and industry with his adoption of colorful bricks laid on site. The degree of prefabrication of the Byker wall is higher than in previous projects. Here, the complete structure is built off-site and lifted in place.

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CONSTRUCTING ARCHITECTURE, TWO THEMATICS OF EXPERIMENTATION

Analysis A consequence in the investigation of these try-outs with technique is to see Erskine as an architect interested in his time and thus always on the lookout for state-of-the-art technology for his buildings. A few notes on original drawings indicate his close relation with the engineers in charge of his projects, as well as a willingness for precision in his practice. A small number of drawings solely presenting engineering solutions persist in the documentation of his projects. It appears as though ‘Ralph’, and the engineers with whom he collaborated with, drew hand in hand in an iterative process of enhancement. His iron will for the betterment of his designs as well his tendency to strive for innovative solutions can well be illustrated in the history of the Växjö project for instance. Before choosing to cooperate with Bo Bouvain and Nils Kjellström of Skånska Cementgjuteriet, Erskine organized tenders. By asking four contractors to tender based on his design and by using their different building systems, the architect ensured quality and respect for his vision, despite being in the early years of industrialization technique. The founders of the Allbetong system at Skånska Cementgjuteriet (today’s Skanska) were appointed. In regards to this case as well as to the progress in the complexity of his later projects, one could conclude that the architect’s desire for advancement is deeply correlated to his practice and his experiments with engineering and engineers.

2. An experiment towards color – a history of acceptance Facts and chronology The original facade of the Växjö residence in 1955 displays a natural concrete grey tone from the panels’ finish. But in the 1990s, when a major facade renovation was undergoing and prefabricated elements were replaced by a plaster finish, a creamy white paint took over the existing hue. Window frames and seals were changed, and light blue paint used to highlight them. The entrance porticoes were also subject to a colorful evolution when they were painted in bright red. The buildings in Kvarteret Ortdrivaren, Kiruna, are colored red, brown, terracotta, ochre and yellow. This coincides with previous color studies and vision paintings by Ralph Erskine that boast warm nuances to enhance sunlight in the snowy landscapes of arctic communities. I suppose the use of paint on the concrete elements in Kiruna can be attributed to an advance in technology, but the difference of status and therefore economy in the project (rentals versus condominiums) could also explain the variation in facade treatment. Ten years later, at the Byker Wall, color is the carrier of identity and marks a strong contrast with the early works of Erskine. Brickwork is patterned and ribbed and can be read as solid-color expanses in earthy tones. Metal and woodwork, on the other hand, offer contrasting bright colors such as blue, green and red, allowing for distinct parts of the estate to be identifiable. Interestingly enough, similar trends can be observed in later modifications of the dull grey Växjö project.

Analysis I believe it is important to advise the reader that the culture of architecture school is often oriented towards modernism and functionalism when it comes to looking at examples and ideals, at least in curriculums of continental Europe. This, in turn, could explain the rebellious fascination of a student like myself for Erskine’s gestures of joy and color. Before understanding that such gestures that I perceived in his architecture fell under another historical category - romantic functionalism - I found new relevance in such human attention, in light of today’s aesthetic disputes in Sweden. Current discussions between Arkitekturupproret and Swedish

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CONSTRUCTING ARCHITECTURE, TWO THEMATICS OF EXPERIMENTATION

architects are focused on visual aspects of classical contra modern architecture and on the idea that architects are only interested in the latter. Another observation on the situation could suggest that members of the insurgency focus on the symbolistic character of buildings while architects might be refusing to look upon their functionalistic theoretical backgrounds to find common ground. The popular criticism of modern housing estates also raises the question of it’s rough and dull aesthetics. Considering Erskine’s chromatic developments and in regards to this contemporary context, one could argue for the importance of a newly appointed necessity for ornament, color and the superficial, all in the name of acceptance.

Conclusion Through the glance of these two thematics of experimentation, one can represent an architect with an ambition that strives for the betterment of his practice through perseverance and collaboration. On a lighter tone, one can easily imagine a picture of the ever-sketching architect, trying to solution every detail with great care and passion. I also envisision this idea of a poetic and sensible architect, as can illustrate this passage from his Polar record :”The beauty of snow and of rime frost in trees or on the ground, the sweeps and spirals of wind-blown snow, the reflection of lights from the white ground and roofs, the springtime run of icy water in gutters—all these and more are part of the aesthetic of the outdoor north, and should be part of city planning.”

This exploration in words may differ slightly from our wider perspective on the Lassaskog estate as a prototype of elements. Here, I have chosen to focus on the less used paths of Erskine’s history of works: the idea of his technical experiments and his journey towards color. The exhibiton will also show the story of Erskine’s engagement in defining a modern arctic identity through attempts at a climate-resilient architecture.

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THREE HOUSING PROJECTS BY RALPH ERSKINE

Designing for the Common and the Private Niklas Dierks Introduction — Throughout his housing projects, Erskine had an altering approach to designing spaces for the community. Generally, spaces that enhance the feeling of belonging and social interaction played an important role in each project. However, they differ in the way materiality and color form these spaces. In terms of urban planning and community, his ideal of the town in arctic regions led him through all designs and can be recognized in a typical pattern: the wall that protects the community from rough climate conditions and allows inhabitants to thrive and use the areas around the development in a socially interactive way as a comfortable second living room.

1. Växjö Tightly planned and homogeneous rental apartments rise through a rhythmical structure and repetitive precast façade elements. To counteract the efficient but seemingly monotonous tectonics of this project, Erskine directed his playful ways of handling color and materials towards the shared spaces in and around the building.

It all starts in the exterior surrounding, where excavated material forms ground sculptures. Furthermore, all road surfaces are patterned in grey and black asphalt. People walking, and even people on their balconies can admire the landscaping and sculptural approach on the ground. Erskine’s way of forming common spaces continues fluently into the entrance of each building. A graphic image is composed of geometric stone tiles on the floor, a similar approach as on the asphalt. Walls in every staircase are painted in certain color schemes but always kept in natural and muted tones, which is typical for Erskine. Besides these material aspects of highlighting common spaces, he integrates Hobby-spaces into the building’s program where inhabitants can practice different activities in a shared way.

2. Byker Erskine’s project in New Castle is a well-known example of social housing, locally known as council housing. A large number of duplex apartments form the so-called “Byker Wall”, protecting the common spaces and its inhabitants throughout the whole development from harsh climate conditions. Playfully arranged low rise houses behind the protecting wall create a heterogeneous area that is rich in all kinds of spaces to come together and interact.

Creating a sense of community was the most important aspect of this project, both in the planning process and the finished design. Compared to his project in Växjö where he uses the entrance area and staircase to architecturally highlight common spaces, in Byker the exterior corridors are designed with much care in how they are used. The usage of the private areas in

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DESIGNING FOR THE COMMON AND THE PRIVATE

this public corridor is arranged according to the movement of people passing by to allow the coexistence of these two clashing degrees of privacy.

3.Kiruna The housing development “Ortdrivaren” in the far north of Sweden mainly consists of ownership apartments and therefore distinguishes itself from the other two projects of Erskine. Although shared spaces exist in many ways in the outside as well as the inside, his care applied more to the layout of each apartment than to the colorful appearance of a common space. The flats are airy yet well planned. Carefully placed perforations in the structural walls allow viewing axis, always facing the light entering through the window. In the Byker project, he explains through sketches the use of the common exterior corridor while in Kiruna the use along the façade in each apartment is described expansively. Furthermore, all balconies function as an extension of the living room and were even thought to be used as a space to smoke fish.

Conclusion Each project shows a variety of ways on how to deal with common spaces in an urban but also colorful and materialistic way. His sketches and drawings describe immense care for establishing new communities that would change people’s way of living for the better. However, it is possible to notice certain differences in the following duality: ownership contra rental.

The project “Ortdrivaren” in Kiruna is the only ownership development amongst the three and therefore shows increased care for designing an interesting apartment layout with viewing axis and elaborate relations between all spaces inside the apartment. This might have led to a minor neglecting of certain common spaces as the main staircase or spaces on the ground floor. Nevertheless, Erskine’s main pursuit in achieving a thriving sense of community was, besides all similarities, realized in unique and evolving ways.

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THREE HOUSING PROJECTS BY RALPH ERSKINE

Bibliography

Robin Abrams, Byker Revisited, Built Environment, Vol 29, No 2, Perspectives on Urban Greenspace in Europe, pp. 117-131, 2003 Michael Drage, Byker: Surprising the colleagues for 35 years- A social history of Ralph Erskine’s Arkitektkontor AB in Newcastle, Twentieth Century Architecture, No 9, Housing the Twentieth Century Nation, pp. 148-162, 2008 Peter Collymore, The Architecture of Ralph Erskine, Academy Editions, 1994 Peter Collymore, Swedish or British?, Arkitektur, No 7, 1981 Mats Egelius, Vår tids hjälte?, Arkitektur, No 7, 1981 Ralph Erskine, Architecture and town planning in the north, The Polar Record, Vol 14, No 89, pp.165-171, 1968 Olof Hultin, Ralph Erskine, Arkitektur, No 7, 1981 James Longfield, Echoes of Erskine: reflections on the working life of a citizen architect in Byker, Arq, Cambridge University Press, Vol 18, No 3, 2014 Arkitektur, No7, 1968 Vi Cementgjutare, No2, 1955

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Grindformar — Nils Nordberg, Byggarna och maskinerna (1992)

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Högdalen High and Low 1950’s City Planning and Fake Panels

Ellinor Karlander Bolun Liu

Since the 1950s, Sweden had experienced a housing shortage for several years. Until the Million Program had been proposed in the 1960s, there was a ten-year period approximately from 1950 to 1960 which was rarely mentioned in the Swedish mass housing history as well as academic fields. By researching the work of city planner, architect and engineer will help us to get a clear structure of this period.

In the process of our study, we try to start from city planning, specific blocks and apartment floor plan to figure out the background of that time and aslo the reason of the building method. Then, we may have a general view of the 1950s’ residential building, the influence to the coming up million program as well as what we can learn from that period.

In the first text: Högdalen, Markelius and post-war suburban development in Stockholm, we will talk about the shortage of housing in the 50’s when new planning concepts and building techniques had to be invented, and had to be more efficient and dense. Furthermore, the history of Sven Markelius worked at the City Planning Office and why Högdalen was a stepping stone on the path to the future.

In the second text: Fake panels as ornament, we will zoom in to a specific area in Högdalen which is Skärmväggen 2. By detecting the lifestyle at that time as well as the collaboration and the argument between architect and engineer will help us to understand the changes in the idea about the authentic expression of the building method.

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HÖGDALEN HIGH AND LOW

Högdalen, Markelius and post-war suburban development in Stockholm Ellinor Karlander To visit in Högdalen in southern Stockholm, planned and built in the 1950’s, is to experiencea suburb where two different building ideals meet. The lower buildings with gable roofs, influenced by the “peoples home movement”, and the high-rise buildings, with flat roofs and large entrances, presented new building techniques and a modern way of living. The careful planning of the small neighbourhood units with the variation of typologies and a well functioned open courtyard is what makes Högdalen unique. One person who had an obvious influence in planning the city of Stockholm during this time was the city planning director Sven Markelius. The suburbs were mainly planned following a structured Master Plan, a template for how to organise different functions in new communities. But the process of Högdalen was more experimental, due to some changes in allocating the area, and maybe, Markelius will to make something different.

After the second world war, there was a serious shortage of housing in Sweden, and not least in Stockholm. The population was growing and more people moved into cities, where people had to reside in cramped spaces and with bad living conditions. The problem became a prioritized political subject, and a new Building Act and Building Statue in 1947 provided municipalities to draw Master plans for long term solutions for housing. In the municipality of Stockholm this was not a new thing, the City Planning Office had been working with this type of plans before. The big difference now was that the city of Stockholm was ready to grow, and plenty of new suburbs to be built from scratch. The Stockholm Master plans from the 40s, 50s and 60s had an important role to solve the dwelling problem, they stated concepts for the expansion of the city and they resulted in urban environments that today are so much a part of everyday living in Stockholm.

Sven Markelius was the city planning director in Stockholm the years 1944-1954. Some examples of Suburbs which he had a big role in planning are Vällingby (inaugurated 1954), Råcksta (built 1951-53), Farsta (inaugurated 1960), Högdalen (built 1955-60), Hökarängen (built 1946-54) and Västertorp (built 1949-54). These suburbs have a lot in common that was new for the time: they were all connected to new stations on the expanding subway line and they all have at least one high rise building close to the station and to a smaller or bigger shopping center. The lower residential buildings, 3-4 storeys, often with gable roofs, were similar to suburb housing in the previous decade. The ideas for the new suburb planning was influenced by the British planning of New Towns outside London, characterised by neighbourhood and community center ideas. The inspiration resulted in the General Plan 1952 and the new concept ABC-town, which stands for Arbete, Bostad, Centrum (Work, Residence, Centre). The ideal at this time was that you would be able to live, work and run all your errands within the same limited area, close to subway and highway connections to the inner city.

Vällingby was the first suburb to be built following the ABC-town concept. It was in many ways a success, which led to another suburb to be built - Farsta. Both Vällingby and Farsta are large scale projects, with a high number of residential buildings. The high buildings are grouped and located in the areas centre with close connection to the subway, and on areas

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HÖGDALEN, MARKELIUS AND POST-WAR SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT IN STOCKHOLM

with rugged ground. Besides shopping, the centre contains public service such as school, library, health centre and church. Lower buildings with 3-4 storeys surround the center and the high buildings. In an outer circle are row houses and villas located, mostly with easy access to the highway.

When planning Högdalen, the idea was first to plan another ABC-town similar to Vällingby and Farsta. But the proposed area for the project was instead split into two smaller areas, Bandhagen and Högdalen. Sven Markelius got to draw the development plan of Högdalen himself, together with Jan-Erik Hedlund. In this case, Markelius wanted to achieve variation in building typologies, not with groups of different building types as in Farsta and Vällingby, but within the smaller units as well. Instead of placing all the high buildings close to centre, they are spread out evenly, together with the low buildings. The text attached to the development plan explains that the area was divided into smaller neighborhoods, with one or two 9-11 storey high-rise buildings and up to five 3-4 storey low-rise buildings each, and with a total of around 500 room units per neighborhood. The lower buildings are long and straight, and form an open courtyard. The high-rise buildings are placed in a corner of a courtyard, and some of them are attached with balconies to a low-rise building. In this way, two different building types based on two different ideals meet. One of them more traditional, and one representing modern life. They coexist and are carefully organised to shape well functioned neighbourhoods with good living conditions.

In the end of the 50’s, despite the large amount of new apartments being built, shortage of housing was still a large problem. New planning concepts and building techniques had to be invented, which had to be more efficient and dense. Sven Markelius work at the City Planning Office and Högdalen was a stepping stone on the path to the future.

17

HÖGDALEN HIGH AND LOW

Fake Panels as Ornament Bolun Liu Since the 1950s, Sweden had experienced a housing shortage for several years. Until the Million Program had been proposed in the 1960s, there was a ten-year period approximately from 1950 to 1960 which was rarely mentioned in the Swedish mass housing history as well as academic fields.

It is well known that residential building is a combination of buildingtechnology and lifestyle.

Therefore, detecting the lifestyle at that time as well as the collaborationbetween architect and engineer will help us to get a clear structure of this period.

Different from the mass housing projects under the guidelines of Million Program which one-third of housing production were high-rise areas, one-third of low-rise multi-dwelling areas and one-third were single-family homes[1], the mass housing projects from the 1950s had a combination of both high-rise and low-rise buildings. Before the 1950s, the main type of Swedish housing was low-rise housing such as row housing and villa. Then after a few years, areas such as Högdalen and Farsta which were consist of both high and low had become more popular. This may lead by the accelerating population growth during the post-war period. Meanwhile, this kind of residential area has the potential of both good environmental connections and suitable residential density.

By analyzing the adaptation and change in living conditions, building technology and the relationship between architects and engineers in Skärmväggen 2 at Högdalen which was built in 1957, we may find the reason why they chose to build in this way and what can we learn from this case to make high-low rise area adapt to the contemporary context.

In the master plan of Skärmväggen 2 designed by the city planner Sven Markelius, a courtyard was formed by the high and low rise buildings. With the high rise building on the northwest corner and parking lot on the southwest corner, the area got a good sunlight condition as well as a perfect atmosphere of the common space in the courtyard. In the original floor plans made

by Curt Strehlenert and Marjatta Rankka, the architects built three main types of apartments in order to meet the needs of different types of families. Four-room apartments and two-room apartments in the high-rise building, meanwhile, three-room apartments in the lower ones. There were two disadvantages to those floor plans. One was all of the rooms were closed space lacking connections with each other. The other was there were some corridor areas in the apartment partly caused by the closed rooms. And it was a waste of space. While in the latest high rise apartment plan, the loadbearing wall between the kitchen and living room is replaced by a column which makes the public area of the apartment more open.

“Grindformar” or “Gate form” was a building method widely used by Forss & Son in the early 1950s, in which the walls were built on-site floor by floor under the limits of the industrial produced wooden frame[2]. The building technique of Skärmväggen 2 was probably a similar version of “Grindformar” which could be speculated from the construction photo.

Sune Forss who was the engineer built the interior walls as load-bearing walls with 150mm concrete, and the exterior walls as insulation walls with 125mm lightweight concrete blocks and 150mm concrete in the high-rise building and 275mm lightweight concrete blocks in the lower ones. The main structure system for both high and low was the load-bearing staircases

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FAKE PANELS AS ORNAMENT

and 150mm interior walls with a symmetrical pattern. The control of the cost and the rationality of the structure were the main factors that formed the construction plan. By designing like these the engineer in some sense gave the later architect the opportunities to make changes to the floor plan adapt to the contemporary lifestyles as time went by.

If we zoom into the exterior walls, a painted structure was covered on the facade which was a dishonest expression of the construction process. Although the exterior walls were built with lightweight concrete blocks, the architects chose to paint them with regular grids. Was this a case of the fake panels as ornament which showed the trend of the public aesthetic in the 1950s? We could see that the architects wanted the building to be more industrialized, like “prefabricated”, which may probably be a symbol of modern lifestyle popular at that time.

When it came to the 1990s, the property rights were separated. In 1999, the high rise building was reconstructed on the facade with an added layer of insulation. The new insulation layer were prefabricated panels, while the joint of each panel was hidden to the utmost extent.

Inforty years, the idea of the facade had changed in contrast.

The expression of the new insulation layer is a complete ornament to the facade.

However, is the fake panels – the painted structure the real ornament? In the article Ornament and Crime written by Adolf Loos in 1908, he wrote that the evolution of culture marches with the elimination of ornament from useful objects. The ornament will cause the object to soon go out of style. The painted structure can be seen as an ornament because of the dishonesty of the construction method and usage. Although it maybe a fashion of prefabrication at that time, it can also be out of date in the next decades. Meanwhile, in this case, the fake panel is more like an argument between architects and engineers about the cost and the new technology. All in all, maybe it is a better way to understand the building by the true building technology and reflect the contemporary lifestyle.

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HÖGDALEN HIGH AND LOW

Bibliography

1. Nils Nordberg, Byggarna och maskinerna (1992), Från formsättning till elementbygge, p132-135.

2. The Million Program and Record Years (2013), https://web.archive.org/web/20131113090756/ http://www.sigtunahem.se/Om-SigtunaHem/Historik/Allmannyttan4/,(2019-10-15).

3. Ornament and crime : selected essays / Adolf Loos ; selected and with an introduction by Adolf Opel ; translated by Michael Mitchell 4. Prefabricated systems : principles of construction / Ulrich Knaack, Sharon Chung-Klatte, Reinhard Hasselbach 5. Components and systems : modular construction : design, structure, new technologies / Gerald Staib, Andreas Dörrhöfer, Markus Rosenthal ; [translation: Catherine Anderle-Neill] 6. Vällingby and Farsta - from idea to reality : the suburban development process in a large Swedish city, David Pass, 1969.

7. HSB:s tekniska kontor : 1942-1975, Curt Strehlenert 8. Rudberg, E. (1989) Sven Markelius, architect, Stockholm: Arkitektur Förlag.

9. Markelius, S. (1953), Pl. 4132 (development plan), Stockholm: stadsbyggnadskontoret.

10. Deutsche Bauzeitung, 1965, annual journal.

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21

Assembly of panels

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Let’s try Something New...

Elin Monie-Landerö Adam Holm Bingrong Huo Oscar Wilner Our work is an analysis of two housing projects that in innovative but different ways responded to the housing needs of their time. Geographically far apart and with different backgrounds, but close in time, ideas and tools. Both areas consist of various typologies. We have focused on one medium high building from each area.

The Östberga housing estate in the south of Stockholm was built in 1956-59. It was initiated by the housing company HSB, designed by architect Lars Giertz and built by the construction company Ohlsson and Skarne. The system used was the “Skarne light” system with prefabricated concrete wall elements, load bearing inner walls, pitched roofs on wooden trusses and concrete floor slabs cast on site. Lowering building costs was a central ambition in the Östberga housing project. The ways of doing that were numerous and spanned from small physical interventions to controversial juridical circumventions of workers rights: the elements for the build were prefabricated in a temporary factory close to the site, none of the four storey high buildings were provided with elevators, each household payed for their own heating and hot water and new types of craftsmanship, such as spray painters were invented, to lower labor costs.

The Sluzewiec prototype housing estate in the south of Warsaw was built in 1960-62.

Architects were Andrzej Bielobradek, Tadeusz Stefanski, Jan Druzynski and Witold Wojczynski.

The estate functioned as a testing ground for a new building system: the Warsaw Universal form-60. One of the main features of the system was the possibility to build different typologies, from two storey semi detached houses to thirteen storey buildings, using only one system of 60 panels. Both walls, floors and roofs were made out of prefabricated concrete elements. A skeleton of inner walls were load bearing while aditional inner walls were non load bearing to create flexibility in apartment lay out.

The texts that follow delve into connected topics that we came across during our research.

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LET’S TRY SOMETHING NEW...

Moving Walls and Folding Beds Circumventing Spatial Limitations with “Kowalski Furniture” Elin Monie-Landerö “Kowalski furniture” or “System MK” as it was originally named, was a wall unit, a “mebloscianka”, created in 1961 by designer couple Boguslawa and Czeslaw Kowalski. It was created as a contribution to a contest initiated by the Furniture Industry Association and the Polish Artists Association called “Furniture for small apartments design competition”.

Political thaw After the death of Stalin in 1953 and with Chrusjtjovs takeover in the Soviet union several noticeable political changes occurred within the Soviet-allied states. Censorship was eased, political convicts were released, fokus was directed at peaceful coexistence with other nations and signs of consumption culture appeared. In connection to this the field of design flourished. In the field of furniture design new materials such as plywood and different types of plastic where used.

Industrialised housing production By the end of the 1950s polish residential buildings started being built using prefabricated panels. This brought predetermined dimensions of rooms and apartments. The building regulations of 1959 stated that an apartment for 4 people (M4) could be no bigger than 48 square meters. Older big apartments where often divided into several smaller units and inhabited by several families. The amount of living space available was scarce. Each room had to cater several functions and there was often no possibility to separate for example bed room from living room. Architects and designers worked on making small apartments functional even though inhabited by several generations and with family constellations changing over time. The foremost challenge for the furniture industry was to develop practical, multifunktional, light furniture solutions. The developing of wall units was initiated by the polish institute for industrial design and the institut for wood technology in Warsaw and went on during the 1950s. In an article from 1958 in the magazine How to set up your home published by the polish institute for industrial design the author writes:

“The apartment suitable for anyone could be realised on an entirely different principle. In mass construction based on prefabricated elements one could develop apartments with constructional walls and a kitchen and sanitary core.

The user would receive an outline of the apartment suited to his or her needs and would finish the interiors, divide them according to his needs and with the use of pre-made elements such as wardrobes, wall fragments and so on.”

The breakthrough came with “Kowalski furniture” in 1961. After winning the competition “Kowalski furniture” was mass produced and became a polish design icon.

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MOVING WALLS AND FOLDING BEDS

The wall unit The “mebloscianka” served as storage unit for clothes as well as linen, utensils and books. It functioned as a room divider and provided seating, workspace, dining table and beds using folding sections. The “mebloscianka” was designed to touch or almost touch the ceiling to release floorspace. Another important function was to camouflage functions and items when they were not being used. The “mebloscianka” consisted of standardized elements that could be assembled and disassembled. One could, for example, divide the “mebloscianka” in two and furnish two different rooms using only one piece of furniture. The “Kowalski furniture” specifically, had four built in functions. Book shelf, closed cabinet, foldable table and foldable seating/bed.

A big part of the polish design production in the late 1950s and early 1960s was progressive using organic shapes, asymmetry, diagonal lines and vivid colors. “Kowalski furniture” represented a more toned down ideal focusing on simplicity, neutrality, logic and practical solutions. Nonetheless and in accordance with all furniture design at the time, clearly distancing itself from the upper and middle class traditional ways of furnishing.

“Kowalski furniture” was marketed as the neutral base in every polish home and was often presented together with suggestions on how one could personalize it using for example colorful posters. The name “Kowalski furniture”, which was not the original name but what the piece came to be known as, refers to the surname of the designers. But “Kowalski” is also a very common polish surname which emphasizes its character of being the standard piece in every polish home.

Present in housing construction As an example of how the “mebloscianka” was “built in” to housing being produced in the late 1950s and early 1960s the WUF-60 experimental housing estate in Sluzewiec Warsaw can be mentioned. The area was built in 1960-62 using the WUF-60 system of prefabricated concrete panels. The dimensions in the build were small, a 3 people apartment (M3) was only 34 square meters. The “mebloscianka” is visible in the drawings and was described by the architects in an article in the polish magazine Architectura:

“The apartments in the WUF series have not only common structural but also functional elements. In the residential part there are wall units enabling additional division of rooms. The wall units provide a number of functions on both sides. Depending on the size of the apartment, three or four-segment wall units can be used. The easy assembly and disassembly of the segments allows users to divide the room according to current needs.“ The “mebloscianka” solution also affected the design of the WUF-60 buildings. It motivated a small window placed high up on a wall in the living room:

“The room divided by a wall unit has two windows. [...] Due to the fact that the wall unit is not a full partition, the smaller part of the room is illuminated with a high opening, which allows for greater possibilities for arranging this room.“ Another housing project where the “mebloscianka” was part of the original idea was the Sady Zoliborskie housing estate by architect Halina Skibniewska built in 1960-63 in Warsaw.

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MOVING WALLS AND FOLDING BEDS

In her drawings Skibniewska presented several versions of an M5 apartment were she showed how the layout of the apartment could be adjusted to ones taste and as the family structure changed using the “mebloscianka”.

After the 1960s During the 1970s when a bigger number of residential buildings were built and polish building norms permitted a slightly bigger number of square meters, people continued to live in crowded conditions and the “mebloscianka” continued to serve its purpose. After the fall of the communist regime in 1989 industrially made furniture started to flow in to Poland from other countries and took over the market. Not least from the Swedish furniture industri with light, inexpensive, modern and practical pieces in flat packs. “Kowalski furniture” was in many cases degraded and used as storage in garages and holiday cottages.

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LET’S TRY SOMETHING NEW...

Östberga and the Death of the Craftsman Adam Holm The quicker the pace of innovation, the greater the volatility of the labor market.

The Östberga project constitutes a real example of the shift in building methodology from craftsman to industrial, as well as the effects on the people involved.

The transformation from on-site craftsmanship to industrially fabricated components was a direct result of the disruptive forces of the second world war, creating a shortage of skilled labour and material as well as a demand for affordable housing while simultaneously improving production facilities and capabilities. In the postwar years these conditions were amplified by further technological development and a growing population, paving the way for large-scale prefabrication. Sweden, untouched by the war, had emerged as a thriving economy with the capabilities of a modern industrialised nation. In the middle of the 20th century, the future was bright and within reach through technology.

Ohlson&Skarne, one of Swedens more prominent construction firms, had at the time been developing new methods of construction. Led by Allan Skarne, the company sought to mitigate the housing crisis using innovative construction methods.

The Östberga project, finished in 1957, was an experiment in rationalisation. Being the first major swedish attempt at prefabrication, this new residential area in southern Stockholm utilized a system of factory-made concrete panels in combination with slabs cast on site.

Several methods were tried for the first time, their success eventually leading to the creation of the Skarne 66 system and construction methods essential to the million program.

In rural Uppland, Ohlson&Skarne hired young workers fleeing the farms of their parents and looking for a place in the new modernity. For these laborers, the prefabricated systems meant new innovative procedures. Up until now, all tasks performed by skilled workers were on a price list, based on strict rules deciding who is allowed to perform what . This was the guilds and unions way of ensuring the workers value. Bricklayers, carpenters and other skilled craftsmen recieved a performance-based wage. This incentivized the craftsman to maintain productivity but prevented the development of better tools since increased efficiency did not lead to reduced costs.

A clear ruleset did not exist for these new tasks, leading to lengthy on-site discussions regarding compensation during the construction of the projects first building. As a solution, Olsson&Skarne opted to streamline the construction process for the subsequent buildings by simply eliminating as many skilled jobs as possible.

A prefabricated concrete facade without bricks or plaster eliminated the need for bricklayers.

All carpentrywork for molds, doors and cupboards was done in a factory, meaning no carpenters on site. A new technology for spray-painting walls assured that even the expensive painters could be replaced by cheap unskilled laborers.

According to Skarne, this was a solution in direct response to bureaucray, effectively singling out the rigidity of the unions as a catalyst for the layoffs. Tasks could not be intermingled and neither were Olsson&Skarne allowed to compensate their workers with a temporary monthly salary for the duration of this pilot project. However, Östberga was not the

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ÖSTBERGA AND THE DEATH OF THE CRAFTSMAN

first instance of a house being constructed without these types of craftsmen - In Uppsala, the neighborhood “Diset” had famously been built by Ohlson & Skarne “entirely without craftsmen”.

It´s hardly a stretch to suggest that this rationalisation was not entirely a last-ditch reaction to hair-splitting unions.

The Östberga project was a significant success however, ushering in new methods of swedish mass housing production and its accompanying aestehetics. Seen as an isolated incident (and from an employer perspective) this might have been a direct response to luddite union practices. In a larger sense however, the motives for the hyper-rationalisation that was taking place all over Europe were part of a greater effort of slimming production down to its bare essentials. And though swedish housing was not yet fully driven by market forces, the business of construction was still very much subject to economic realities.

It is often the ones who are most exposed to change who have the fewest means of handling it. The manual laborer is the first to feel the effect of changes in production. And yet, the demand for skilled laborers have not diminished. Change has always been a constant.

In the late 19th century, London newspapers published articles heralding the mass unemployment of lamp lighters as a result of the emerging electrical streetlight. In hindsight we recognize this too as the position of the luddite. Today the loss of jobs is frequently used by leaders as a political argument against the shift to sustainable energy sources. And at the sime time, robotics and artificial intelligence constitutes a real threat against peoples livelyhood.

The public discourse all too often seem to revolve around a choice between innovation or employment. This is, of course, a false dichotomy. The death of a profession constitutes a redistribution of labor and the problem has never been change itself but rather how this redistribution is handled. There are many healthier topics of discussion, such as the degree to which employers have a responsibility to educate those who they in their strive for innovation render obsolete, whether or not it´s in their best interest to do so, and perhaps if ever-increasing productivity could eventually lead to a redefinition of the word employment.

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Słuzewiec - From Village Through Industry to Offices Bingrong Huo Industrialization of Poland’s Residential Architecture To understand how Poland’s residential architecture was industrialized, one has to be aware of is the state of the country after World War II. There were significant changes in the population composition of cities, in the employment structure and culture after war and these processes took place in conditions of increasing demographic boom and intensification of the country’s economic difficulties.

At the same time, industrialization of the country and the development of large factories was one of the most important goals for the authorities. Regardless of whether these ideas were right or whether they were formulated independently, they effected a radical change of the social structure – the number of people living in the countryside was reduced, while there took place an enormous and virtually constant movement of people to the cities. Besides, the number of Poles increased in general – just between 1950 and 1970, the population grew from 24.6 million to 32 million people. ‘The housing crisis’ was not only a political slogan, but an actual phenomenon. Mass industrial production of housing was the only way of addressing this issue.

The need to introduce new industrial production methods, to select functional and functional solutions, and to find better methods gave rise to the idea of locating a prototype housing estate in Warsaw. During the 1950-1970, blocks in Poland were built using many different technologies. There were blocks constructed using entirely traditional methods, blocks employing only some prefabricated elements, and blocks constructed using only prefabricated elements. On the southern reaches of Warsaw, each and every building in the neighborhood had different dimensions and was built using a different, experimental, prefabrication technology. After trying various systems and technologies, there was a breakthrough in the 1961.

A System Created in Słuzewiec The Prototype Neighborhood was one of the places where the idea of mass-producing housing was born – at the beginning of 1960’s such an estate was established in Słuzewiec, a building center as the largest prototype command, creating the possibility of experimental testing of the results of implementation and conducting research and scientific works.

Briefly introducing the historical background of Słuzewiec: The beginnings of Słuzewiec date back to the 15th century. It was then, when a village under the same name was founded. Throughout the next few centuries the village remained outside of the capital city until the year 1938, when it officially became part of Warsaw. During the World War II Słuzewiec was burnt to the ground.

A period of intensive development of this part of Warsaw followed in the post-war years. In 1951 the first industrial complex was opened in Słuzewiec, including several dozens of projects and residential buildings. The district was further expanded in the following years and was dubbed Industrial Słuzewiec thanks to production halls built there. The industry

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SŁUZEWIEC - FROM VILLAGE THROUGH INDUSTRY TO OFFICES

included like the electronic production plant Unitra Unima, the semiconductor factory Tewa or the crane production site Zremb, all of which created the industrial character of the district until the end of the communist era in Poland.

During the post-war period, residential building in the Słuzewiec, as elsewhere in Europe, boomed. The construction of the first house buildings in Słuzewiec began in 1960, and after the program is completed, about 17 thousand people will find their place of residence there in buildings with a total cubature of about 1 million square meters, made using progressive construction methods. One of the first prototype implementations starting a series of experimental facilities was the series of residential buildings marked with the symbol WUF-60.

The advantage of WUF-60 system WUF-60 was one of a series of WUF system. Obviously, the name –Warsaw Universal Form – results from the basic feature of the system. That is, a system permitting an established set of large slab elements to be used as the basis for the construction of a rich assortment of different buildings ranging from two-storey one-family homes and blocks of plats, five to eight storeys high, to twelve-storey tower blocks. The universality of the form lies in the possibility of molding in it almost all the possible elements needed to erect various types of residential buildings with the WUF system. Only such elements as staircases, landings, cornices or elevator boxes are manufactured in individual forms. In order to maximally simplify the construction and reduce the number of elements, one tract depth of 4.80 was used, and only two spans of longitudinal walls: 5.40 and 2.70 m. Such an arrangement allowed reducing the number of prefabricated elements.

Firstly, techniques used in the WUF system enable the buildings were near complete just after assembly. The construction of elements was maximally simplified and the number had been reduced as well, which is only 60, so that more buildings could be completed in a shorter amount of time.

Secondly, the WUF system gives great opportunities in shaping individual apartments as well as buildings. These 4.80m*2.70m and 4.70m*5.40m grids enable additional division of rooms which is more flexible. Additionally, In the residential part there have wall units.

Depending on the size of the apartment, three or four-segment wall units could be used.

Therefore, the easy assembly and disassembly of the segments allows users to divide the room according to current needs.

Finally, this system is a factor of primary importance from both an architectural and urban perspective, as it allows the use of buildings that are diversified in structure and size, while maintaining the same technology. This assumption has been confirmed in the designs and implementation of the first prototype series which includes 5 different types of buildings: a 2-storey semi-detached house, a serial 2-storey buildings, 2 multi-segment buildings (5 and 8 storeys) and a 10-storey building. the Future of Post-war Residential Buildings However, after the collapse of the production sites in the 1990s, developers began the construction of office buildings in Słuzewiec. The new architecture dominated the post-industrial area in short time, changing the character of the entire district. After several years of investments Słuzewiec became the largest business district in Poland.

Today Słuzewiec is more than 1million square meter of modern office stock in almost

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80 properties. The residential market and services infrastructure are growing rapidly next to the offices. Therefore, there is a vast need for residential accommodation. This need can only be met if the existing stock of residential buildings, including the post-war buildings, can upkeep its function. Yet these once so modern buildings are aging: as original building systems deteriorate and expectations of occupants alter, there is an urgent need for retrofitting them, within the next decades. But how to renovate or transform a post-war building properly, so as not to lose the elegance and liveliness of its original design?

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Östberga and Słuzewiec Traces to CIAM and Modern Planning Ideals Oscar Wilner This text focuses on the roots of the modernist planning ideals that shaped the Östberga and Słuzewiec housing areas, identifying similarities and differences.

The site for the Östberga project consisted of a green valley with surrounding hills and trees.

In the original plan, by Sven Markelius, typical three story houses were spread over the field, surrounding small courtyards. The housing cooperative HSB later bought this land and Sven Wallander (Head at HSB), Lars Magnus Giertz (Architect) and Allan Skarne (the construction company) together adopted a new typology that would keep the central field as a big park, and instead placing the housing around it in larger and longer volumes. The design followed an ambition to create a feeling of community and neighborhood. The building scale was increased by deepening the volumes and adding another story, three nine story point houses were also included in the plan. This was unique at the time and was an attempt to lower building costs and time while increasing the number of apartments, but also creating better housing with good quality. This was achieved with prefabricated construction, new types of water and heating techniques and large and flexible plans. The long volumes were also better adapted for the new industrialized construction techniques, and the spaces used for cranes and construction could later be turned into parking space. A temporary factory was set up next to the site, where all the prefabricated elements were created.

The building we have analyzed in Warsaw is a five story apartment block built with the WUF prototype system between 1960-1962. The architects Tadeusz Stefanski and Andrej Bielobradek, adopted modernist ideals to the building and apartment design, as they were young architects from the Warsaw school of architecture under the influence of the Syrkus couple. The building lies within the housing prototype area of Słuzewiec in Warsaw that was planned by architects Urszula Ciborowska, Aleksander Łyczewski, Zdzisław Łuszczynski, Jerzy Skrzypczak and landscape architect Barbara Tucholska (Biuru Projektow Typowych i Studiow Budownictwa Miejskiego), with its focus to test new industrial construction methods for housing to combat population growth and urbanization. This was made possible by a state decision in 1959 that allowed experimentation in technology, functionality and economics, with a strive for standardized components. As a result, this prototype area in Warsaw could become a testing ground for new designs, materials, construction processes and economical models. The location in the Słuzewiec industrial area was strategic since it was meant to primarily house the construction workers from the nearby factories, transportation was good with nearby trams and buses to Mokotow center and the city center. The rail network was close, and this would secure effective deliveries of construction material from the factories. The relative flat ground of the area was suitable for the mechanized construction. Planned to house 15 472 inhabitants, the housing units were placed within local “micro-units” that would be free from car traffic and consist of greenery and services like schools, kindergartens, sports facilities, shops and nurseries.

The streets were separated from the buildings, with the local streets seamlessly

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(through big circulations) linking to the main artery street Nowowoloskiej running trough the area. The green belts withing the local and main streets could be filled with common services, thereby creating a “filter” between the street and the housing units. Pedestrian separation from car traffic was taken into account when planning for the workers walking to the factories.

The roots, CIAM I will now take a brief look at the Swedish and Polish involvement in CIAM, the “International Congresses of Modern Architecture” to visualize links to the planning principles of Östberga and Słuzewiec. CIAM was created in Switzerland in 1928 by the initiative of Le Corbusier and others and gathered architects from many countries to discuss urban planning and modern architecture. It included a central committee (CIRPAC) who decided the directions and aims of the organization. One of the more clear documents produced was the 1933 Athens Charter.

The political views of the members varied, from communist to fascist to liberal, but as an organization CIAM never took a distinct political position.

The architect Sven Markelius would become an important figure in the Swedish modern movement, starting off his career in the end of 1910s in the national romanticism, and later neo classicism. Though being a successful neo classical architect, he embraced the emerging modern movement thanks to his interest in technology, rationalization and standardization.

In 1925 Uno Åhren, a coming college, writes an enthusiastic article about the current Paris exhibition and the works of Le Corbusier and this gets attention in Sweden. Uno Åhrén makes another important impact when he publishes article in 1928 in byggmästaren, arguing for separated parallel high rise buildings towards the south, better daylight and more green surfaces. Very controversial at the time. Markelius gets his own experience through a European study trip where he meets Walter Gropius (who will become a good friend), and in 1928 from the Weissenhof exhibition where he is inspired not least from the works of Le Corbusier. The next year, as the first Scandinavian, Markelius and later Uno Åhrén is Invited to CIAM by Karl Moser, and starting with CIAMs second congress in Frankfurt, he becomes a continuous member of coming meetings. In the coming years he adopts his new theories in several Swedish projects, both in housing and public buildings. In parallel, changes in legislation and society make way for functionalism. Markelius adopts his principles in the proposal for Gärdet the same year, consisting of 12/ 20 floor residential buildings with concrete structure, well planned according to sunlight. These years were a breaking point in traditional/modern planning ideals and the new idals were critizied by traditionalists. A major turning point came in 1930, with the formation of the Swedish CIAM group (Sven Markelius, Uno Åhrén, Gun Sjödin, Eskil Sundahl)(Later also Carl-Fredrik Ahlberg, Göran Sidenbladh and Fred Forbat), but mainly because of the 1930 Stockholm exhibition (Gunnar Asplund, Uno Åhren, Sven Markelius), which were a clear step into the modern functionalist movement. Markelius then realized the first urban plan with modern principles in Fredhäll in 1932, together with HSB and Sven Wallander, Wolter Gahn, Uno Åhren, Paul Hedqvist and Eskil Sundahl. Though Sweden was not affected by the physical destruction of the war, housing shortage was great, and new suburbs emerged with the British neighborhood planning as inspiration. Here Sven Markelius played a central role as the head of the urban planning office (1944-55) in Stockholm. During these years he developed his ideas of the postwar suburb that would be concretized in Vällingby, with a mixture of high and low rise buildings, commerce, parks and societal functions.

Variation and adaptation to the terrain was important. These ideas were connected to new infrastructure projects and the idea to separate car traffic from pedestrians. The post

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war planning was a product of a great and long term effort by several disciplines, mainly concretized in the “bostadssociala utredningen” and the magazine PLAN.

Polish architect Szymon Syrkus brought the modern movement to Poland in 1926 by forming the group “Praesens” together with his wife Helena Syrkus, gathering avant garde young architects and artists that would focus on social problems and especially the housing demand for workers. The goal was to unify architecture with industry and to adapt architecture to mass production. The works of Le Corbusier and other modernists influenced them, and in 1928 Szymon Syrkus gets invited to CIAM, though he did not attend the first CAIM meeting at La Sarraz. From the CAIM 2 conference and onwards both Szymon and Helena Syrkus are influential in the work of CIAM, presenting projects on minimum dwellings on CIAM 2 and the “functional Warsaw” study on CAIM 4. In 1933 Helena becomes secretary of the congresses and in 1947 the vice president of the CIAM council. Together with the Praesens group members Bogdan Lachert, Jozef Szanajca, Barbara and Stanislav Brukalski they realized several functionalist coop housing projects in Warsaw, for example the Warsaw Residents Co-op in Rakowiec in 1930. They both focused on realizing projects but spreading knowledge in lectures and publications in the Warsaw school of Architecture. They also organized international events, for example the 1926 Exhibition of Modern Architecture in Warsaw. The Nazi occupation put a halt to the modernist work, and breaking down polish culture in general.

When Walter Gropius immigrated the united states in 1937 he made similar plans with Szymon and Helena Syrkus, proposing them a job at Harvard University. They never went there until 1946 though, one reason being the imprisonment of Szymon in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942. During the Stalin era the modern movement in Poland were restrained due to the current socialist realist ideals, condemning the ideals of CIAM. During this time Szymon and Helena were both members of the Polish Workers Party, propagating for Socialist Realism and in some way opposing their old ideals. In 1955 Nikita Khruschchev condemned the “excesses” of the Stalinist era and disbanded the Soviet Academy of Architecture and introduced liberal changes in general. New doors were opened towards mass housing and modern architecture.

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Bibliography

Books Adler, P. 2005, Bygga Industrialiserat, Svensk byggtjänst.

Malczyk, A. 2002, Tracing praesens, Roots and Context of Modern Movement in Poland , Warsaw University of Technology.

Meuser, P. and Zadorin, D. 2015, Towards a typology of mass housing, prefabrication in the USSR 1955 -1991, DOM puplishers, Berlin.

Mumford, E. 2002, The CIAM Discourse on Urbanism, 1928-1960, MIT Press.

Nylander, O. 2013, Svensk bostadsarkitektur, utveckling från 1800-tal till 2000-tal, Studentlitteratur AB, Lund.

Rudberg, E. 1989, Sven Markelius, arkitekt, Arkitektur förlag, Stockholm.

Skarne, A. 1987, Med kran och krok, Byggförlaget, Stockholm.

Stenberg, E. [ed.] 2013, Structural Systems of the Milion Program Era, KTH School of Architecture, Stockholm.

Tarkhanov, A. and Kavtaradze, S. 1992, Stalinist architecture, Laurence King Publishing.

Articles Bielobradek, A. and Stefanski, T. 196?, System WUF, Architektura, Warsaw.

Korcelli, P. 2005, The Urban System of Poland , Built Environment 31(2):133-142.

Pawlowski, Z. 196?, Technologia WUF, Architektura, Warsaw.

Waterhout, B. Zonneweld, W. and Meijers, E. 2005, Polycentric Development Policies in Europe: Overview and Debate, Built Environment 31(2):163-173.

Wojtkun, G. Wielorodzinne budownictwo mieszkaniowe w polsce w cieniu wielkiej plyty , Politechnika Szczecinska.

Web Pages https://culture.pl/en/article/building-blocks-polands-most-popular-homes http://culture.pl/en/artist/szymon-and-helena-syrkus https://culture.pl/en/work/wall-unit-boguslawa-czeslaw-kowalski http://goteborgskonstmuseum.se/en/the-collection/swedish-modernism Other Stadsmuseet på plats: Samtidsdokumentation och publik verksamhet 2016-2017, STockholms stad, 2018.

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Husesyn på Östberga, promotional movie, HSB, 1957.

Skarne system catalogue, Nyköpings tryckeri AB, 1968.

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Västra Orminge 1969

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Västra Orminge

Alva Karasalo Dahlbäck Erik Sjöberg Anna Melander

The area of Västra Orminge is a residential area in Nacka outside of Stockholm. It was developed during the Million Programme era when there was a shortage of housing in the Stockholm region and 1 million dwellings were created over a ten year period. This was a time when efficiency in the building process was highly sought after. We have looked at Västra Orminge through three different perspectives: 1. While doing our research we found a lot of articles about Västra Orminge from different points in time. This made us interested in what has happened to the area, the living conditions and how the perception of it has changed during the 50 years it has existed?

2. In an interview with Ulf Gillberg, one of the architects behind Västra Orminge, he states that he was inspired by the book Townscape by Gordon Cullen. Following the notion of townscape we found two contemporary areas with similarities to Västra Orminge which we started to investigate: Cumbernauld in Scotland and Albertslund South in Denmark. Using these three areas as a starting point, we asked ourselfs the question: what can we learn about the international forces and the ideas behind city planning at the time?

3. The development of Västra Orminge was a collaboration between the municipality, the architects, the engineers and the housing company HSB. They formed a group, called The S66 Group, and worked together to plan and realise their visions of the area. This was an innovative way of working which makes us wonder: How did this collaborative process effect the development of the area?

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The S66 Group A Historic Collaboration Alva Karasalo Dahlbäck In the 1960s Boo municipality owned the, at the time, unbuilt land of Västra Orminge which is located about 14 km from Stockholm in between the city and the archipelago. The expanding city of Stockholm demanded the neighbouring municipalities, of which Boo was one, to produce dwellings as the city was growing. At this time there were no general plan for the area of Västra Orminge. In co-operation with Curman Arkitekter the municipality founded a comprehensive plan for the area in 1963.

In the beginning of the development of the area of Västra Orminge the municipality had plans for a high rise area but the city architect Arne Björner suggested a low rise area instead.

There were many reasons behind this suggestion. At the time state loans for housing was given to low rise buildings which of course was something Björner knew and was interested in. One of the architects working with the project, Ulf Gillberg, also favoured low rise buildings.

Dense and low was a trend in city planning at the time. Gillberg was also inspired by Gordon Cullens book Townscape, written in 1961, in which intimate cityscapes are depicted. There was also a desire from the municipality to “preserve the atmosphere of the archipelago” which was thought to be achieved through low rise housing.

With low rise dwellings in mind a more thorough investigation of the area was suggested to investigate what economical opportunities there were to build this way at the site.

When the comprehensive plan was completed in 1963 Boo municipality contacted the housing company HSB to be a part of this investigation. HSB had already been in contact with the municipality and area of Västra Orminge the year before when they submitted a development proposal of the area. Now, one year later the idea was that half of the apartments in the new area would be rental apartments owned by the municipality through AB Familjebostäder and the other half would be HSB co-op owned apartments. HSB who had previously worked with the engineering company Ohlsson&Skarne contacted them to help out with the investigation of what the financial opportunities were for this new area.

HSB, Ohlsson&Skarne, Curman Arkitekter and the municipality’s building office came together to develop a city plan for the area. They started a group called The S66 Group. The group was named after the previous name of the area, Skarpnäs, and the year it was formed, 1966.

The S66 Group worked together for almost a year to develop a city plan for the area which would be both high quality housing and financially possible. They met one to three times a month to discuss their work. The architects were in charge of designing the city plan while HSB and Ohlsson&Skarne looked into the financial situation. During this process they realised that it would not be possible to only develop two story buildings as they had first planned. They concluded that they would need to add some floors to the tower houses in the city plan, making them up to five stories.

This fit very well with the varied typography of Västra Orminge. The city plan was designed so that the low rise two storey buildings were placed on flat ground in the valleys and the tower houses were situated on the hilly parts. To be able to build like this Ohlsson &

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THE S66 GROUP

Skarne developed a new type of crane running on tracks to create a greater manoeuvrability.

This made it possible to not flatten the entire area of the site but instead build with the typography in mind which was quite unusual at the time.

In January 1966 a decision was made to use the new Ohlsson&Skarne system S66. The same year Ohlsson&Skarne decided to move their mobile element factory, which at the time was located in Tyresö, to Boo to bring the production closer to the site.

The S66 system was a system with load bearing facade and pillars making it possible to move all of the inner walls of the apartments. The idea was that this would create a flexible living space for the residents of Västra Orminge were they them selfs could choose how they wanted to live inside of their own apartment. It would also be possible to change the layout of the plan over time to adjust to changes in family size or other living conditions.

It seems that many of the ideas and visions of the S66 Group have been realised.

We have looked at the layout of the plans of some of the apartments and have been able to see how the inner walls and distribution of space have been adjusted over time. Just as Ohlsson&Skarne and Ulf Gillberg and Jöran Curman envisioned it when drawing the plans and designing the S66 system.

When visiting the area we could also observe how the Townscape ideas of Gordon Cullen are being realised as the commitment of the community is visible in all parts of the spaces in between the buildings where flowers and greenery is given space as well as playgrounds, bicycle racks and public barbecues.

One consequence of the tight collaboration seem to have been that the group formed a very one sided vision of what good housing and qualities in a residential area were. We have read articles that criticise the design and architectural decisions of the buildings. However it seems that the perception of the architecture and the area has shifted over time. Now Västra Orminge is well liked. Maybe the historic classification (K-märkning) in 1992 had something to do with it?

Since the system was new and not yet fully developed in the beginning of the Västra Orminge project the architects at Curman Arkitekter were able to contribute to the design of the panels and thereby designing the facades. According to them they sketched both plans, panel joints and everything in between during the process. One of the leading architects, Ulf Gillberg, describes how they as architects were given greater opportunities than usual to “monitor the interests of the consumer” since they were working together with the engineers as partners rather than as consultants.

This is one example of the benefits that the S66 Group made possible. It seems that the close collaboration between all parts of the S66 Group made the development of the area of Västra Orminge not only possible but the end result much better than it would have otherwise been.

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VÄSTRA ORMINGE

Orminge, Cumbernauld and Albertslund New Towns or Townscape?

Erik Sjöberg In an interview with one of the architects behind Orminge, Ulf Gillberg, he explains how the placement of the buildings, in relation to each other as well as in relation to the site, was of great importance to him when working with the planning of the area. The book Townscape by Gordon Cullen is mentioned as an influence for Gillberg. Following the notion of townscape we found two contemporary areas with similarities to Orminge, which we started to investigate: Cumbernauld in Scotland and Albertslund South in Denmark. Using these three areas as a starting point, what can we learn about the international forces and the ideas behind city planning at the time?

During world war two civilian construction seized almost entirely all over Europe. After the war the major cities were in bad shape, overcrowded and destroyed by warfare. Questions of how to protect cities in future wars and how to deal with the damaged city centers arised.

A solution to the problems came in the concept of decentralization. The founding of satellite cities, situated on previously unbuilt land, well outside of the old city boundary. In England they were called the new towns. The formula was based on the ideas of the garden city which had been evolving in Britain since Ebenezer Howard coined them in the late 19th century. The concept was to combine qualities of two worlds, the social and working opportunities of the city, with the light and fresh air of the countryside . In Cities of Tomorrow Peter Hall points out that, although Howard illustrated his ideas with a city plan, he was not a planner nor an architect. The ideas should rather be interpreted as a socialistic model for the start-up of a new town. A group of people would get together and form a company which would then buy agricultural land of low value. Industries would move their factories and workers to the new towns and the profit would go directly back the town management, a sort of local welfare state.

Although the new towns used the framework of Howards ideas, the essence was excluded; they were planned and funded by the state in an all-embracing top-down manner.

The new towns development consisted of detached single-family homes or row-houses, each with their own garden, stretching out along curvy roads encircling a town center with shops and services. The size of the areas was based on sociological ideas about the neighborhood unit, a self-sufficient cell of determined size, which would help to spark relations between people and, in the end, form the democratic man.

The emergence of the new towns were analogous to the rapid expansion of the car industry. In 1950 there were 250 000 registered cars in Sweden, In 1970, Sweden was one of the countries with most cars per capita in Europe, with over two million registered. By reading the numbers it is not hard to see the huge impact that the car had on the society at the time. In The Highway and the City, Lewis Mumford writes: “To increase the number of cars to enable motorist to go longer distances, to more places, at higher speed, has become an end in itself.” As speed and amount of traffic increased, the traditional town street became a dangerous place for the pedestrian. As being the pioneering nation in everything concerning the car, America was first with the concept of separating vehicles and pedestrians. The layout at Radburn became a role model for European town planners after the war.

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ORMINGE, CUMBERNAULD AND ALBERTSLUND - NEW TOWNS OR TOWNSCAPE?

Dealing with problems concerning the planning of whole new towns, or complex street networks, can be regarded as tasks favoured by a zoomed-out vision - a birds-eye perspective.

The countermovement to the bulldozing planning conditions of the post-war era used another perspective to prove its point; the first-person view of the inhabitant. The London based magazine Architectural Review started to use the word townscape in a series of articles in the late 1940s. The most prominent characters of the movement consisted of art historian Nikolaus Pevsner, Architectural critic Ian Nairn and architect and illustrator Gordon Cullen.

The word townscape was used to make a clear departure from the word town-planning, a scape being a view of a scene, a pictorial representation . The authors have a distinct attraction towards the picturesque, old towns and villages are often referred to as good examples. Along with the written critique, Cullen uses a comparison technique to illustrate his point where a contemporary design strategy is put side to side with an historical example of the same issue.

In the book Townscape published 1961, Cullen summarized his ideas, many of which previously had been published in the AR. One of the main objects of critique was the new towns. Cullen used the term prairie planning to describe the problems with the new areas. The dwellings were scattered across large areas creating vast open space between them. Problems came in terms of density and Cullen approached this from several perspectives. One is purely about the aesthetical experience - the positioning of buildings and objects in relation to each other is a potential for drama. The word drama is used in a positive sense, something that is stimulating for the intellect. “..as soon as two buildings are juxtaposed the art of townscape is released. Such problems as the relationships between the buildings and the space between the buildings immediately assume importance. Multiply this to the size of the town and you have the art of environment..” The spaciousness obviously limits this potential of relations. Here, the old town, with intimate, narrow streets is used as a contrary and a source of inspiration. Cullen describes the environment through feelings, using words like sense of enclosure, cosiness, vastness and monotony. The repetition of identical buildings is another topic of debate: “If buildings are the letters in of the alphabet they are not used to make coherent words but to utter the monotonous desolate cries of AAAA! Or OOOO!”

At Orminge, Albertslund and Cumbernauld two seemingly contradictory tendencies interweaved. On one hand - the large scale, top-down planning and futuristic vision of a society based on speed and mobility. On the other hand - sensible, grounded observations of the built environment and a mapping of old town qualities. Although some attributes of these areas would probably have evoked anger from the actors of the townscape movement, major qualities in the planning remains today. The careful positioning of the buildings in relation to nature at Orminge, the incorporation of the canal in the urban landscape at Albertslund and the variation of the housing units at Cumbernauld are examples of such qualities.

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VÄSTRA ORMINGE

50 Years of Living in Orminge Through 5 Newspaper Articles Anna Melander “Behind the concrete a spirit of innovation is appearing” and” Is there a limit to how dense and ugly you can build?” are examples of two headlines of articles about Västra Orminge. I have analysed more than a dozen newspaper articles to investigate how media has reflected on Västra Orminge throughout time. I have chosen 4 articles that I will present chronologically and discuss further throughout this text. All articles are interpreted and translated by me, to find the original headlines and articles, see the references.

In Juli 1967 the article “A different city Orminge in Boo” is published in Expressen and it shows a curious and optimistic attitude towards the experimental, new housing area called Västra Orminge. The journalist writes; “The first tenants that moves in among construction cranes this summer, will indeed not enjoy the benefits immediately. But the city plan is promising extraordinarily beautiful values of comfort.” The journalist is listing the most innovative ideas the area has to offer and says: “Orminge is representing in many ways a rethinking - both in its planning and implementation.“ This article also underlines that the architect and the engineer have been in close dialog with the municipality in their decision-making and are proposing that Orminge is the first democratic building project to be carried out in Sweden. This article is an example of the general optimistic view on Orminge in the early stages of its planning.

Two years later, in May 1969 Aftonbladet are interviewing the first tenants that have moved in to Västra Orminge, which at the time still looks like a construction site. ”Is there a limit to how dense and ugly you can build?” is the article’s headline and this negative viewpoint is kept throughout the text. One of the new residents of Västra Orminge is Ulla-Britt Nordenbris, for two month she has lived in the area and she despises it. “I would move from here in ten minutes if I had the chance” she tells the reporter. The journalist states that when the area is going to be finished in the year of 1972 it is up to the people inhabiting Orminge to create their own traditions, but not a lot of people believes that it is possible. Nordenbris confirms this by saying: “How are we going to create our own traditions here? In that case, it would take a long time”.

In the same newspaper spread, Ulf Gillberg, the head architect of Västra Orminge responds to the critic by saying: “I do not think it is the individual house that is the interesting part of Orminge, I believe in the combination of the buildings and the surroundings”. He explains that the reason behind the dense layout of houses is that it facilitates the social life among the neighbours and creates a more inclusive environment. I believe this harsh immediate critic of the area is presented since the social life in the area, that the architect is hoping for, takes time to be fully developed.

In 1999 the article: “Behind the concrete a spirit of innovation is appearing” is published

by Dagens Nyheter and it shows how Orminge has changed over the years and presents traces of a positive development. “The feeling when I today walk along the gardens in Västra Orminge is that despite the rational constructions, or maybe even through them, it has created space for the own initiative.” The journalist is describing the area as grey and monotone, which is corresponding to the article from the late 60’s presented above but she is mostly focusing on the discovery of the positive values - the gardens and the places shaped by the inhabitants in the area. “The size of

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50 YEARS OF LIVING IN ORMINGE THROUGH 5 NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

Västra Orminge is overwhelming. The repetition anaesthetic. But if you stop off and investigate the details in every garden something happens”. To discover the beautiful variations in an area, I believe that you must be very observant and spend a lot of time in that place.

In 1917, Orminge celebrated its 50th jubilee and Mitt I Nacka then publishes an interview; “We were going to stay in Orminge for maximum 2 years” with Ulla-Britt Pettersson, one of the people who have lived the longest in Orminge. In 1957, the first tenants moved to Orminge and Ulla-Britt was one of them. She moved from Odenplan together with her husband at the end of the summer the same year. Today eight families have stayed in Orminge ever since, during half a century. She bought her apartment for 7000 kronor, which was a lot of money at the time. “I was a bit hesitant about living here at first, when we moved in it was a stone-desert” she says. But as soon as she got to know her neighbours the tables turned. “It was fantastic, everybody knew each other.

It was like a family”.

I believe it took a longer time for this area to become attractive since it is up to the residents to bring life to the area. “We hoped that it would happen things between the people that lived there”, Ulf Gillberg expressed. (Söderqvist, pg. 168). When I walked around in Orminge there was a lot of traces proving that Gillberg’s method worked for creating opportunities for the unpredictable. There was a lot of meeting places around the public outside areas, and most of the spaces between the houses were flourishing with plants, trees and flowers. You need to experience Orminge, by taking some time to walk around to notice the details. In my opinion, we need to look more closely at the benefits of the million homes program, learn from it and then figure out how we can bring these ideas with us in the future. Västra Orminge is a housing area filled with creative, innovative and experimental ideas which we can learn from if we take the time to study these concrete panels and look beyond them.

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VÄSTRA ORMINGE

Bibliography

Books Cullen, Gordon. (1961). Townscape, Architectural Press, London, Svedberg, Olle. (1994) Planerarnas århundrade: Europas arkitektur 1900-talet, 4. uppl., Arkitektur, Stockholm, Hall, Thomas (red.). (1999) Rekordåren: en epok i svenskt bostadsbyggande, 1. uppl., Boverket, Karlskrona Hall, Peter. (1988) Cities of tomorrow: an intellectual history of urban planning and design in the twentieth century, Blackwell, Oxford Lewis, David (red.). (1965) The pedestrian in the city, Elek books, London Kostof, Spiro. (1991) The city shaped: urban patterns and meanings through history, Thames and Hudson, London Kostof, S. & Castillo, G. (1992). The city assembled : the elements of urban form through history, London: Thames and Hudson.

Skarne et al., (1987). Med kran och krok, Stockholm: Ohlsson & Skarne: Byggförl.

Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great American cities 5. pr.., New York.

Söderqvist, L. (1999). Rekordår och miljonprogram. Stockholm: [Univ.], p.168.

Journals Orminge. (1971). Arkitekten, nr 12.

Gillberg, Ulf, Västra Orminge. Planeringen – så gick det till, Arkitekten 1971, nr 12.

Angående S 66 utredning om Skarpnäsområdet i Boo kommun. (1965). Tidsskriften Plan, nr 6.

Radburn Planning: An American Experiment. (1966). Official Architecture and Planning, Vol. 29, No. 3

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Newspaper Articles Vi skulle bo max två år i Orminge. (2017). Mitt i Nacka, p.11.

Tal av Mehr och våfflor när Orminge invigdes (1971). Svenska Dagbladet, p. 7 STADEN “ANNORLUNDA” Orminge Boo. (1967). Expressen, p.11.

Finns det ingen gräns för hur trångt och fult man får bygga? (1969). Aftonbladet, p.6.

Arkitekten: så tätt som här har man aldrig tidigare byggt! (1967). Aftonbladet, p.7.

Bakom betongen skymtar nybyggarandan. (1999). Dagens Nyheter, p.5 Dissertations Taylor, Jessica, Cumbernauld: the conception, development and realisiation of a post-war British new town. (2010) Arts Humanities Research Council, and Royal Commission on the Ancient Historical Monuments of Scotland. Http://hdl.handle.net/1842/8226.

Internet Sources * Image from Digitalt bildarkiv, Nacka ht tps://www.nacka.s e/uppleva--gora/kultur-o ch-mus e er/kulturhistoria/nacka-lokalhistoriska-arkiv/digitalt-bildarkiv/?querystring=v%C3%A4stra%20orminge&categoryId=&page=14#page-14

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Assembling Tensta

46

Skarne System in Tensta

Kinga Zemła Elina Paakkulainen Hongyu Wan While the post-war era of the second half of 20th century in Europe was marked with crisis of different kinds, from moral to political, in many countries the housing shortage was handled with unexpected vigour and optimism – with industrialized construction methods bringing freshness and hope to the newly built world. In Sweden, left-wing politicians were bold enough to promise one million housing units within ten years and eventually managed to build it. Although prefabrication was not at all the most common building practice throughout the Million Program, it became the one most associated with. Under special circumstances of that time, prefabrication could develop like never before, allowing big construction companies to have a great impact on shaping the living environment for future generations.

One of these was Ohlsson and Skarne, a company with long tradition that was later bought by Skanska. They were responsible for building many projects in Sweden, but also internationally – with their prefabricated systems travelling around Europe. The research carried out by our group focused on Päronet blocks in Tensta (Stockholm) and was complemented with additional study of Buch district in the town of Bietigheim (West Germany), built in the same time by subsidiary company – Skarne System Bau GmbH. We looked at Päronet in a broader context of Tensta as it is a purely Million Program district planned in a modernist manner. Päronet blocks were constructed with S-66 system that was used before in low-rise area of Orminge (Nacka).

In S-66, the structural forces were transferred to outer wall panels and single columns inside the apartments which enabled free plans with no load-bearing walls – open for any spatial arrangement a future inhabitant would like to have.

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SKARNE SYSTEM IN TENSTA

The Role We Play Kinga Zemła Studying closely the examples of Päronet blocks in Tensta with their rigid S-66 system, but also considering the broader context of mass prefabrication of housing, one question remained unanswered – what was the role of the architect in this highly industrialized, engineer-driven architecture?

Trying to address this issue, we studied text-reports, drawings and plans, looking for a purely architectural trace. We came across Gyorgy Korodi, architect who worked with Ohlsson and Skarne on Päronet, but he did not want to talk about his work. Therefore this short essay will be based on some theoretical references as well as assumptions deriving from our research and an interview we conducted with yet another architect working with S-66 system – Gerhard Herkommer, German professional who came to Sweden in 1965 and shared with us a perspective that combines the Swedish and German approach towards the role of an architect.

1.

Today’s debate on the role of architects focuses on features new to their profession that arose somewhere at the end of 20th century and continued to develop quickly in 21st century – with projects getting gradually more complex on many levels. Ignoring for now the phenomena of star-architects – as most of designers are very unlike to ever reach that celebrity position – we tend to understand architectural practice as more of a well-handled compromise between various interests, regulations, and ambitions. Modern architect meanders through the design process – and sometimes in a quite business-like manner – in order to reconcile aspirations of different parts involved: urban planners, civil servants, engineers, BIM managers, developers, the public. S/he obeys the era of liquid modernity, as Zygmunt Bauman puts it, and becomes more fluid. But is that the whole picture? The figure described will probably have the credits, but one must not forget of those who actually draw architecture – using new tools to provide plans, sections, cost estimations, remaining in shadow, but with great specialistic knowledge.

I shall go back to that more craftsman notion of architecture later in the text.

There is no space in this short paper to analyse how the architect’s role has changed over centuries, but I believe it is relevant to evoke ancient Greeks’ position on this profession, not because classical reference makes a text look more clever, but rather because it covers the contradiction ever existing in architecture. Painters, sculptors and architects were then considered artisans, not artists. Plato spoke of them with disregard as of those who barely ‘mimic’ rather than ‘create’. In this passage from art history by Tatarkiewicz we read: “Poetry is deprived of two main features that characterize craft. Firstly, it is not a material production, secondly it is not based on any rules. It belongs to an individual idea, rather than to rules; to creativity rather than to routine; to inspiration rather than to skills. An architect knows dimensions of successful architectural pieces, he is able to determine its proportions in exact numbers and base his work on them; a poet cannot invoke any norms or theories, he can only rely on Apollo and the Muses”. In clever architectural writing, we often go back to Vitruvius and his theory of three attributes each building should have, somehow forgetting he himself

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THE ROLE WE PLAY

believed architecture was a craftsmanship rather than art.

With ages passing by, architecture as an intellectual practice gained more and more artistic notion – to finally reach the point of rebellious modernism of early 20th century with architects like Le Corbusier having almost demiurgical ambitions. There was a social mission inscribed in the modernist dream of better society, with little humbleness in to which extent should architecture influence the new man. And yet, fascinated with the scope of possibilities provided by industry, they may had paradoxically withdrawn from the process, eliminated or minimized their own role. In the highly rationalized, highly functional architecture there were rules, not inspirations, norms and standards, not individual ideas, craft and not art or even, ironically enough, crafts-machine-ship.

Studying Päronet, but also the Buch district in German town of Bietigheim, where Skarne system was used, one easily reaches a conclusion that even if one finds the working architect’s name, his role was not demiurgical at all. Päronet blocks are not buildings designed by Gyorgy Korodi, Hochhus in Buch was not designed by Weber and Hoffman. On the contrary – these are buildings prefabricated in Skarne system.

Does it mean that architects had the right to distance themselves from the Million Program era, as – according to architectural researchers Sonja Viden and Thomas Hall – many did? This passage from their Million Program review sheds some light on that issue: “The responsibility is instead laid at the door of politicians, building companies and the construction industry. Yet, the architectural profession was clearly of great significance for the direction taken by housing construction, and not just as designers of individual projects but also as the highest authority in the decision-making arena as regards what was suitable or unsuitable to build. The general trend and the concentration on multifamily blocks, in many cases large ones, would scarcely have been possible without the support of broad architectural opinion. It has even been claimed that architects in the 1960s finally acquired the opportunity to accomplish the visions of multi-storey buildings that they had nourished ever since the heroic years of functionalism around 1930. Whatever the truth may be, the architects definitely did not act as a brake on development in the ‘record years’ and the Million Homes Programme.”

2.

Another important aspect in this analysis is the actual source of both architectural liberty and constraints. Comparing rigid, cubic blocks of Tensta with a rich palette of typologies in Bietigheim draws a simple conclusion – technological systems need not to narrow down architectural visions. It is other factors that influence architectural choices – from political will or idea, financial conditions to local needs.

Tensta is a district built from scratch in fast-growing Swedish capital. For Päronet, the financial aspect impacted architecture. Favourable loans were given to these construction companies that could introduce good quality at cheapest price – and so the architectural repetitiveness being the easiest to perform became key-concept for providing comfortable housing units in great number. S-66 system was based on broad architectural research, being carried out for many years – that in the case of Tensta was materialized and multiplied.

Bietigheim on the other hand, was a small German town with around 20 thousand inhabitants and was in a need for more housing with the growth of the industrial sector. Due to local conditions, the objectives for housing construction were different – and these again were decided by a broader spectrum of professionals working for the municipality, including architects and politicians. The somehow more sustainable development of Buch as a new

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THE ROLE WE PLAY

Bietigheim district (in comparison to Tensta and being built in a similar tempo) in full respect to the existing context (both in terms of topography/landscape and urban or architectural values) triggered various ways of using prefabricated systems. We can find examples of row houses, multi-family housing blocks with up to three stories or high-rises, and all of these with varied plan composition or formal solutions.

3.

I promised to get back to the type of architect that in his everyday practice derives from great expertise in his profession. I should elaborate on this notion using the example of Päronet that, unlike its Bietigheim counterparts, was built in a particularly rigid S-66 system. In S-66, the structural forces are transferred to outer wall panels and single columns inside the apartments which enable free plans with no load-bearing walls. This way, the apartment proposed for the future inhabitant is not one of 2 or 3 or 4 rooms, but an open space of specific area that one could turn into an arrangement that suits him most, with the amount of rooms needed. This flexibility is an intentional, architectural quality. Some interesting comparisons were made on low-rise S-66 juxtaposing architectural plan proposal and actual way of usage by the inhabitants when they moved in.

Gerhard Herkommer who worked with Ohlsson and Skarne on S-66 system is an obvious enthusiast of this idea of offering a free plan. One may ask – what is the role of an architect if the structural system is decided upon by the construction company, the standards are collected in a legally binding architectural textbook (God Bostad – written by architects that played yet another role), and the plan is free for the future inhabitant to change? Well, I believe his role is still quite important. Even if it sounds too idealistically – he is the one to enable it, the one to make it happen. His great and detailed understanding of architecture as craft will allow him to draw it. He doesn’t have the ambition of what Zuławski calls ‘influencing future generations’, but he will make sure no pipe crosses the entrance hall. During the interview, mister Herkommer addressed us, unexperienced students in their mid-20s with a lesson he thought of great importance: “Go on a construction site and see things being done. There are around 50 people working here in BAU, most of them have never been on a site.”

It is in fact quite ironic, but many years later, Gerhard Herkommer who helped developing functionalist S-66 system, was the drawing-architect for Ricardo Bofill, the postmodern warrior. Bofills Bage is exceedingly postmodernist in its aesthetical language, but it is also fully prefabricated – and most peculiarly, in the same factory where elements for Päronet where produced. Herkommer’s task was to adjust Bofill’s plans to Scandinavian standards, in his own words, to ‘enable it to happen’, because if not for that contextualization, it would never been built. We see three different figures here: there is Ricardo Bofill, respected and famous architect using his compass to draw an elegant half-circle of a plan with a strong architectural statement, there is Gerhard Herkommer turning indifferent generosity of his profligate plans into economic Swedish layout, and Skanska prefabricating all the neoclassical elements with such credibility that it would soon trick many unaware viewers. But here one thing is sure – this is a building designed by Ricardo Bofill, the architect, it wears his name, it is not Herkommer’s nor Skanska’s.

This should not surprise us too much, in the end it is quite typical – a parallel example from the present would be Norra Tornen ‘by OMA, by Reinier de Graaf’. Internationally recognizable object will remain being a project by OMA. In Sweden, some would remember that the developer was Oscar Properties. Who would know that the plans were adjusted by

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THE ROLE WE PLAY

architectural artisans from Tengbom?

4.

There will always be a division of tasks and therefore being an architect would mean playing distinctive roles – with the simplest division between those who draw big ideas and those who make these ideas alive. From the point of view of the student, the humble part of the work, the detailed expertise gained with years of experience, where piping and electricity matter, where long safety corridors should run through our beloved spectacular open spaces and staircases have to be lighten properly, is the least recognized.

Different architectural tools, like prefabrication, BIM technologies, 3D-printing, CNC milling, do not constrain architecture, but oppositely – can strengthen it. It is rather the socio-economic and political context that may influence our work, make us more or less dependable. The role we play would always be tied to what we are ready to perform with our sensitivity, ambition and skill, living the times and conditions we were given. What is the role of the architect – is therefore a question we should keep asking ourselves in changing contexts and environments.

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SKARNE SYSTEM I TENSTA

Diversity Within an Industrial System Elina Paakkulainen Prefabricated panel system buildings are often associated with uniformity. It’s a logical conclusion: if there is a set system of elements that make a building - the buildings that the system creates must be uniform. During the work of this project, it has been evident that that is not the case. The S66 system of prefab panels allow for a great diversity of building typologies.

The system that the text refers to, Ohlsson & Skarne system S66 is a development of the company’s heavy system. A prototype of the system was implemented while building kv Diset in Uppsala, which was finalised in 1966. The system is made unique by the slab elements: a standard width of 2700 mm and free of installations. The slabs are supported by load bearing facade elements in one end and columns in the other. Due to the facades and columns being the only fixed vertical elements the plans of the apartments are highly adaptable, an important aspect when the system was being designed. All elements of the S66 system are prefabricated, a quality that distinguishes the S66 system from the Ohlsson & Skarne light system that featured in situ cast slabs.

At first glance of Tensta the assumption of uniformity seems correct. Between Tensta Centrum and Hjulstavägen the scene is dominated by six story blocks out of concrete and south of Tensta Centrum the buildings are only three stories, but aesthetically very similar. The geometry of the windows, balconies and openings are quite similar, and the facades are often exposed concrete, painted, tinted or ground for visible ballast. For the purpose of this text the main focus will be in northern Tensta, at brf Päronet which is a large co-owned housing block consisting of eight building blocks of six stories. The facades are exposed concrete treated with a pattern of smooth and raked texture. The apartment configurations are the same, with one two bedroom and a three bedroom apartment on each floor.

On the other end of the spectrum there is the Buch district of Bietigheim, built with great inspiration of the Swedish industrial way of building housing and using the S66 system.

The plans suggest that the apartments are planned for the same size of families as the blocks of Päronet, much like most housing that was built at the time and still are. The area is visually much more varied as the buildings range from high rise buildings of up to eighteen stories, to one or two story row houses, despite the similarity in the apartment plans. Here it really shows how diverse the system used can be.

The reason that Tensta is largely six stories high is because that is the scale Stockholm is built in and in the planning of Tensta, it was a conscious wish to make it city-like as opposed to a sparsely inhabited suburb. The decision for the uniform typology of Päronet lies not with HSB or Ohlsson & Skarne. The planning of the area and the political situation favoured uniformity in Tensta and seemingly variation was focused more on in Bietigheim.

The vision for Tensta was to create harmony between the densely built city and the lush nature of the city’s outskirts. While Tensta is more densely built than earlier suburbs of Stockholm, the area isn’t built as densely as the inner city. Due to the commercial and societal services being focused in Tensta Centrum along with the separation of pedestrians and traffic, the

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residential blocks do not have a very city like character.

A significant aspect in the planning of Tensta is that it was possible to get very beneficial loans and subventions to finance large scale housing projects. In order to get these advantageous terms to finance a housing project in Sweden during this time a requirement was to build a large number of identical housing blocks. This political reason for the uniform planning of Tensta probably stems from an economical reasons and time consciousness, since this was the time of the million homes program. Another reason could be democratic reason which in my opinion would be very typical for Swedish culture: the idea that everyone should have good, adequate and equal living standards, readily translates into everyone having the same living conditions. So even though equal doesn’t have to mean the same for everyone, in brf Päronet that is how it has been interpreted. Although the residents of Päronet live in similar apartments, the system that built the blocks allows for almost endless diversity.

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Judge Less and Learn More The Living Conditions in Tensta Hongyu Wan If you want find something about Tensta in a book, such descriptions as inhuman environments, brutal destroyers of the landscape, social disaster areas and others alike will meet you around the corner, in remarkable works of Peter Hall.

If you type “Tensta” into a search engine, news with such titles ‘No-Go Zones’ or ‘vulnerable areas’ will jump out in front of your eyes and give you a fright with bloody photos and statistics of crimes of violence.

We prepared as above for our field research and we, 3 young women, became rather hesitant in heart to step into the northern area in Stockholm. But what I saw and what I heard, during the interviews with 15 families who are living there now, completely changed the way I saw it before.

Abandon the stereotype! New eyes are needed!

There is a criticism quoted in Peter Hall’s book Cities in civilization:

“Testa in particular was a huge mistake: a vast apartment complex of concrete blocks, very monotonous, without adequate public transport and therefore difficult to commute from, with few social services or commercial facilities. It represented a singular unattractive image, and the vacant flats confirmed it.”

Look back the timeline (you can find it around on our boards) of Tensta, first tenants moved in 1967 and the blue line of the subway only began traffic in ten whole years. After the first residency, schools, grocery stores, health care centers and other basic facilities just began to be available. No doubt life could be extremely hard for the first residents, but nowadays, a totally different picture of the area is given.

All the 15 interviewees, without exception, showed me their appreciation of the convenient transport system, schools nearby, small-scale cheap retail stores in neighborhood and shops as well as the Konsthall in the center, which are even the best of living there to most of them. And the woods and gardens alongside the blocks also enjoy a good reputation, serving well as the place to barbecue together, to stroll with families, and to play for children. Just as what I saw and what they said, apartments, roads, stores and other features were carefully designed and orchestrated to make living there as convenient and enjoyable as can be.

Looking back, the plans for satellite cities, under the intense political pressure for housing units, might be an expedient to deal with the house crisis resulting from the rapid urbanization in Sweden. One of the areas, Tensta, in a haste without public transport and basic facilities, could be anything but a self-sufficient community in the beginning. But time flies and things have changed. Now it seems like that what the area lacked before have been completed and are favored by the residents. It’s time to stop stereotyping!

Don’t watch it from a distance! In-depth knowledge is needed!

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JUDGE LESS AND LEARN MORE - THE LIVING CONDITIONS IN TENSTA

In 1991, Thomas Hall, the Swedish planning historian, has summed it up for the industrialized apartments:

“As these standardized giants were assembled largely from prefabricated panels, all design considerations were abandoned. The overriding goal was development in large units and quick rational construction. The design of the setting in which these houses appeared was determined not by the needs of the future residents, but by the requirements of the cranes and lorries shuttling back and forth as building proceeded.”

The critical review can be right to some extent and might be a wake-up call to one who indulged himself in the victory of prefabrication, but as the system itself is concerned, there are lots of design considerations in the prefabricated panels, which are prone to be neglected by one who has little knowledge about the system or is blind to the real life that’s happening there.

The Skarne 66 we studied belongs to the heavy method in Skarne system, with wall panels and slab all prefabricated in a high mechanized permanent factory.

On the one hand, due to the load-bearing columns and the outer walls that support the floor slabs, it gives complete flexibility to the disposition of the entire dwelling area. It can be divided into several rooms to suit the present and future needs. One family interviewed, who happened to take down the wall between the kitchen and the living room last year, definitely got the benefits. And the ‘big enough’ comment came not only from one single man but also a family of six, which could also be attributed to the considerately designed system.

On the other hand, according to Gerhard Herkommer, an architect who worked with Skarne system before, the design parts left to architects were limited indeed, but the fixed combination of toilet, kitchen and bathroom, as well as the wiring system was their decision.

It was also the architects who told engineers how and where to distribute the pipe in panels.

That might be too far from what an architect is supposed to design usually. Nevertheless, it is exact that design that guaranteed the life with efficient water and electricity supply without being cluttered with wires and pipes in sight.

Admittedly, orderly process to assemble panels, catering to the Million Programme target, was well designed for cranes to reduce assembly difficulty and raise speed. But living condition was given careful consideration as well, which can be confirmed in the favourable remarks from interviewees. In addition, the so-called monotonous façade might be a reflection on that period time and to some extent, which did help to reduce the cost in order to provide satisfactory apartments with low rents. The aesthetic quality, which varies from individuals to individuals, mattered less than the great demand for houses then. Nowadays, the thirst for diversity and characteristics is prevailing and maybe it’s the time to make some renovations.

But on no condition should we ignore its thoughtful design hid in the panels. Reserve your judgements before you know it!

No more hearsay! Full report is needed!

Tensta has been on a list of so-called “ especially vulnerable areas” for several years, which was defined by police as a geographically defined area characterized by social issues and a criminal presence which has led to a widespread disinclination to participate in the judicial process and difficulties for the police to fulfil their mission. It has also been labeled a “no-go zone” by Sputnik, Breitbart and Swedish newspaper SvD. But that’s just part of the picture.

The first time we visited Tensta, we were overwhelmed by the lively life scene where

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people were talking in the market, children were chasing and romping around the gardens and teenagers were hanging out together on the street. But then the second time, a tutor, who work there and live in downtown, warned me not to stay too long because of the possible shooting in night. A knot of fear did grow in my stomach when I saw people leaving and coming in a silent hurry and some boys ganging together around the center as the dusk began to set that day.

Similar to what I experienced in person, safety issues received contrasting views from our interviewees.

People who have lived there for a long time usually have a positive view, especially ones with families and friends nearby. I have interviewed 4 families who are all from Somalia and have been here for more than 10 years. I was impressed and infected by the big smiles and the excitement when they were telling me something about their satisfying life and the harmonious community: A teenager told me proudly that he knew all his neighbours no matter where they came from, two women shared with me their gatherings in the garden when everyone brought some food and they cooked for them in turn, a young women with a big family described how they were raised there and how familiar they were with the area, and a young man called the news bad rumors with indignation. They are too familiar with the area to feel unsafe in the place they called home and with their close neighbours around, in which case the admitted occasional shootings seem to have little impact on them.

At the same time, worries did exist among people who haven’t lived there for a long time or didn’t feel the sense of community. A woman with two kids, who lived there for 3 years and felt sad about no greetings with neighbours, planned to move somewhere else safer. Two parents, believing there was some reasons for police being there, expressed their apprehension and worries about the security for their children after living there for 2 years. Another women throw anger on the police for no action carried out after so many deaths in the area.

It turns out that crimes did happened in this area but the influence is limited on the real people living there, which can also be alleviated by a sense of belonging to local communities and the familiarity with the area.

People are prone to feel more unsafe about an area they’re unfamiliar with – that’s what the media do and then they report on it. The role which media plays matters a lot, especially in shaping how the outsiders view Tensta. They should attach greater importance to the underlying reasons why segregation, alienation and poverty emerge in the areas to find out what can be done to prevent it, rather than just report the horrible events themselves to gain attention, threaten the uninformed, and frustrate those who are living there and love it.

All the criticism in history or the news nowadays can be pretty one-sided about the real living condition in Tensta. If you want to see the whole picture, please Step closer, Hear and Watch in Person

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Bibliography

Viden, Sonja & Hall, Thomas. 2005. The Million Homes Programme: a review of the great Swedish planning project. Stockholm: Planning Perspectives, 20:3, 301-328, DOI: 10.1080/02665430500130233 Bauman, Zygmunt. 1999. Liquid modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press Tatarkiewicz, Władysław. 1988. Dzieje szesciu pojec. Warsaw Zórawski, Juliusz. 2008. Wybor pism estetycznych. Cracow Skarne, Allan. 1987. Med kan och krok. Uddevalla: Bohusläningens Boktryckeri AB Bengtzon et al. 1970. Rapport Tensta. Stockholm: Bocktryckeri AB Thule Arnstberg, Karl-Olov & Erdal, Björn. Därute i Tensta. Västervik: Ekblads tryck Hall, Peter. 1999. Cities in civilization: culture, innovation and urban order. London: Phoenix Giant Hall, Peter. 2002. Cities of tomorrow: an intellectual history of urban planning and design in the twentieth century. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers

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We Produce and Install Large-Panel Buildings - Bulgarian housing manufacturing plant ad

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Potkovica + Lyulin

Anton Tonchev Lejla Rizvani Despite both countries being neighboring socialist states, sharing common cultural and historical past, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia have had many different approaches when it came to panel production and its use to create mass housing estates.

Bulgaria was among the staunchest supporters of the Soviet Union and its closest Eastern Block satellite and because of this it was more encapsulated to any Western influence.

As a result, it took longer for innovations to be implemented, each next iteration branching off the previous one like in a tree. One such late arrival was the innovation of how to turn the corner with a 90 degree section - something achieved and widely used in neighboring Yugoslavia about 15 years earlier. Until the late 1970s all Bulgarian panel buildings were strictly straight volumes with one or many stairwells.

In Yugoslavia, however, under Tito’s personal regime, the country enjoyed an environment free of Soviet involvement , which allowed for an independent path to socialism, borrowing ideas from both the Eastern Block and the Western Democracies. As a result, different companies could emerge, introducing the best ideas from places like France and West Germany, which would end up competing against each other on the domestic construction market. This meant that several concurrently running panel construction systems existed in Yugoslavia until the violent break-up of the state.

All changed in 1989 when the Balkan region went into tail spin. The Soviet aligned countries underwent socio-economic and political upheaval, which in Yugoslavia also led to a bloody civil war. As a result, the urban landscape was neglected and suffered considerably.

The already notorious panel construction, was completely discredited, when additional, unsanctioned interior and facade changes were carried out by the apartment owners. These were applied in several waves over time and ranged from simple additions of air conditioning units and satellite dishes to grand gestures like completely enclosing terraces and opening new entrances for commercial spaces on the first floor.

Today Bulgaria and the ex-Yugoslav counties have tens thousands of panel buildings in dire need of rehabilitation due to their age (some have turned 60 years and over). How to cope with this issue has also ranged significantly, but one thing is for sure - the time to act is now.

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Turning the Corner in Socialist Bulgaria Anton Tonchev Looking at a map of Sofia with the known residential, panel structures, one finds not only their spatial distribution but also curious patterns occurring across the capital. One such peculiarity is the fact that all panel buildings until 1977 were strictly a straight volume with one or many stairwells. Only after the introduction of the nomenclature BS-69-SF-UD does one see an angle section first of 40 degrees and then of 90 degrees. One starts wondering why the sudden desire to turn the corner, when this approach has been known and successfully used in next-door Yugoslavia for at least 15 years before that?

The most common critical note to this system of panel buildings (and in general to industrialized housing of this type) is related to the grayness and uniformity of the architectural image. One of the main reasons for the monotony is the poor assortment of nomenclature blocks produced by the house-building plants. So perhaps this is the answer to our question?

Large-panel construction in Bulgaria has a history of over 60 years. After the experimental phase in the late 1950s, mass industrialization of the construction industry began in the period 1965 - 1975. At the time large-panel construction was considered a priority for housing. The construction of 30 housing manufacturing plants in the former district centers followed. This lead to the continuous, yet slow improvement of panel systems, by two, major, state-owned residential construction companies. The process ended soon after 1989, when the totalitarian political system collapsed due to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Eastern Block.

Until then, as a result of the continuous state policy, 707 441 panel homes, in 18 900 buildings,with 1 779 086 people living in them, were constructed across Bulgaria. This means that exactly a quarter of the Bulgarian population today lives in such structures. 82.3% of the total panel housing is located in the district centers, while Sofia accounts for 28.5% of all panel buildings - 201 020 dwellings, which is 42.7% of the housing stock of the capital.

For the 60 years of Bulgarian panel construction, it is curious to note that 20% of all panel buildings in the country is shared between the systems BS-69-SF and its modification BS-69SF-UD. To analyze this pattern we are zooming in on the “Lyulin” residential complex in Sofia.

Looking closely, would notice the use of two main large-panel systems - BS-69-SF and the older and more rigid BS-2-64 “Zemlyane”.

Following the historical development of the “Lyulin” residential complex, we can see how the best available system innovations were introduced over time. We start an imaginary journey at micro-regions (MR) 1, 2, 3 and 4 started in 1973, where straight sections of both systems coexist. Then we move through MR5, 6 and 7, finished during 1978, where we start noticing a gradual mix of sections from both systems to make one building, where the middle sections are from the “Zemlyane” system while the end section is from the newer 69-SF nomenclature. Finally, in MR8, 9 and 10, started in the mid 1980 and completed around 1989 (sometimes even in 1996), we see the introduction of the right angle section which now allows for the linking of two bigger structures and the creation of L-shaped ones. Our case study in Bulgaria explores this curious hybrid.

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This desire for flexibility in the layout design is achieved with the introduction of the 90-degree, corner section 432 which is of special interest to us. In it the newly introduced module m (30 cm), dictates all panel sizes. A feature kept from the previous Sofproekt nomenclature BS-VIII-SF is the unified bay width of 3.60 m. At the same time, several improvements have been made. The transverse size has been increased to 6.3 m (from 5.76m) allowing for the placement of the more attractive, sheltered loggias which substitute the old external balconies.This is noticeable in the plan of section 432, where we see loggias not only on the colder, north side, but also on the warmer and sunnier, south and east sides. Placed deep the loggias now service two rooms in most cases. Therefore, not a single room is left without access to a balcony, unlike in the older “Zemlyane” system where balconies are placed only on the wider panel bays, depriving all bedrooms from outside access. The 90-degree, corner section becomes one of the few in the Sofproekt building catalogue, with terraces facing three directions, adding to the variety of the apartment types and improving the overall living conditions. Meanwhile in Yugoslavia this process has occured at least 15 years before that. The early introduction of the m module in the panel systems (done by several competing companies) meant that more flexible floor plans could be devised, thus making the panel buildings more attractive to differnt family sizes with various needs.

Another improvement is the depth width of the bedrooms which previously had to be placed in the narrower 3.20 m wide bay. With the additional 40 cm to their width, the bedrooms are better balanced and more spacious. From the strictly sized 12.00 sq. m. bedrooms in the “Zemlyane” system, we now have several different sizes ranging from 9.45 sq. m . to 15.46 sq. m. befitting the various needs of different sized families. For instance, a small kid’s room would perfectly fit in a 9.45 sq. m. space while a couple of children could share a bigger bedroom and still have plenty of space to play around. Similarly, the dimensions have changed for the living room. The awkwardly elongated, bigger rooms (19.00 sq. m.) of the “Zemlyane” system are now of several sizes fitting different-sized households. A three-room apartment for a family with two or three kids would thus have 21.31 sq. m. to spare, while a bachelor, in a one-bedroom apartment, would enjoy 17.16 sq. m. for a living room which would also serve as a bedroom. The kitchens sizes are similar between the two nomenclatures (ranging between 8.13 sq. m. and 9.20 sq. m.), but when it comes to the 90-degree section, introduced in 1983, the kitchens are more spacious (11.21 sq. m. to 12.80 sq. m.). This elevates the kitchen from a place for food preparation to a multi-use room. The second bathroom in the new system is considerably smaller, not allowing for the placement of a washing machine, which has now been moved to the kitchen. For comparison, in the Potkovica building the width of the panel bays is fixed at 4.00 m and all spaces fit accordingly - the bedrooms being a perfect square of 4 x 4, while the living room and kitchen/toilet units are alternating with longer depth. The kitchens are also more successful in terms of being more open since they are walk-through spaces with adjacent dining areas to them. This compenastes for their smaller sizes (ranging from 5.73 sq. m. to 8.65 sq. m.).

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Half a Century Living Lejla Rizvani The Balkan peninsula - a geographic area in south-eastern Europe often associated with Yugoslavia, has been a turbulent place for the past century. The peninsula was split between a Soviet sphere of influence and a Western one for the bigger part of the 20th century. Among the countries there, both Yugoslavia and Bulgaria were Socialist states. However there was a major difference between both - Yugoslavia was a non-aligned state, while Bulgaria was part of the Soviet-led Eastern Block and had strong connections to it. This affected how both countries developed, and how their living standards developed over time. In Yugoslavia, a non-aligned country led by Tito, the living standards were good. It was an multinational society, with little influence from other countries and leaders. Bulgaria on the other hand, was strongly influenced and impacted by the Soviet union.

This big difference also shows how differently both countries developed. When looking at mass housing and developing of society, Bulgaria was more experimenting under the influence of the Eastern Block, while Yugoslavia stuck to a few systems from the beginning to the end. The Yugoslavian systems of mass house building also arise from the soviet systems, but there the connection ends and the system branches off and continues independently to be used in the country. Bulgaria was under constant influence and pressure, which lead to many systems being used, tested, dismissed and renewed. The broad testing and renewal of the Bulgarian systems lead to the development and improvement of their housing systems. By testing many systems, they quickly understood what worked and what did not work as well. An example of this is the former narrow kitchens of Bulgarian housing, that the newer systems dismissed and redesigned with new panel structure, to a wider and more spacious functional kitchen. In Yugoslavia it was the opposite, the kitchens became smaller in time and took less space. This testing around of new panel structure and mass housing did not exist in independent Yugoslavia, and their housing panel structures followed a strict 4 x 4 layout from the start until the end of panel production in the country. Even though the strict layout was set, their apartments came in variety of layouts and sizes, as the 4 x 4 logic was easy to work with.

The peak of panel built mass housing in both countries was from around the 1960’s until the 1980’s. The 1980’s is also when Tito died and since Yugoslavia was a loosely held multi-ethnic country, the different nations started trying to win their own independence. This caused Yugoslavia break apart in March 1992 which ended in a four-year long war. This war split up Yugoslavia into; Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia.

Of all these countries, Bosnia was the one that suffered the most, while Serbia and Croatia barely took any damage until the NATO bombings of 1999. During the war Bosnia lost almost half their population, while 2.2 million refugees lost their homes, and all other building were bombed and left with big grenades and bullet holes. Today, 23 years after the war ended, many mass housings complexes still stand empty filled with gaping holes. The ones from that time, and any buildings before 1992 that people still live in, have cracked façades, holes and very poor living conditions. No renovations have occurred in Bosnia, and it seems like time has stopped since 1996.

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Bulgaria did not suffer from the war more than any other country on the Balkans that was not a part of Yugoslavia. Even though Bulgaria did not undergo any war, their state of buildings looks fairly the same as a war-country. Instead, they broke apart from the Eastern Block and became independent without the influences from Russia.This implies that both countries did not prioritize to renovate their housing, and still does not.

After Yugoslavia broke apart and Balkan now consisted of more countries, Bulgaria started to establish themselves more while Bosnia fell behind more and more. Bulgaria applied for an EU-membership and became part of it in 2007. Bosnia applied in 2016 and was denied, with many questions following them and many accounts they did not live up to. Bosnia is considered to be at the bottom of the list of all Balkan countries that has the possibility to enter EU. This explains how poor the living conditions, standards and the government work in Bosnia.

In both Bulgaria and all former Yugoslavian countries you own your apartment. This means that you are free to do any change, both interior and exterior without any permission.

People started to change the appearance of their apartments as early as the 1980’s, and became more prominent in the 1990’s and 2000’s. Not all apartments from the mass housing era were the best planned or the best localized, with narrow kitchens, small bathrooms and balconies facing north. People inhabiting these apartments quickly saw that the north balconies were cold and dark and not of use for beyond the warm months, so they started quickly to enclose them. The enclosures can be found both partially done, and fully enclosed with walls, thus elongating the adjacent room. The apartments were often too small, or more people lived there than it was intended, so this is a common change you can see in almost any building complex in both Bulgaria and the ex-Yugoslav countries. The residents found their own solution to this. The enclose of the terrace is the most common feature of change to these buildings, but you can also spot one housing complex in different colours and materials. People felt free to change whatever they wanted, and many changed the colour of their little part of the façade.

This feature is prominent in both Bulgaria and former Yugoslav countries, since no permission was taken, and people took advantage of getting their own will through.

The interior changes were not as prominent as the exterior. The biggest changes in modifying the interior layout of the apartment is the enclosure of the terrace that gives extra space. Another trait used mostly in Bulgaria is converting the first floor apartments into stores or any other public market. The first floor was not treated as a good place to live in, since it was common for people to break in. People that have not converted their first floor apartments into any stores, have installed metal “cages” made of bars covering their windows to protect them from burglary. These “cages” are a good sign of telling how good or bad a neighbourhood in Bosnia or Bulgaria is. If you found a neighbourhood without any such “cages”, you could be certain it was good and safe. Similarly, one with enclosures on the first, second and sometimes third one, meant that the place was dangerous and not too safe.

Bulgaria has been a member of the European Union, which benefits both the country and its inhabitants. The EU has allocated money for member states to re-invest in their country and to improve the housing conditions by renovating buildings.

Bosnia, however, is at the bottom of the waiting list to enter the EU and its poor living conditions seem to remain unchanged. For 23 years nothing has been done or changed in the housing conditions. The lack of communication, help from other countries and with a corrupt government, nothing is likely to happen soon. People continue to live in their half-demolished apartments, since they are used to that and do not know of anything better

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Bibliography

Sofia Municipality: Architecture and Urban Planning Department - National Energy Efficiency Program (site in Bulgarian) https://www.sofia-agk.com/Pages/Render/256 Series of Large-panel Housing in Bulgaria - (forum discussion in Russian) https://www.zdanija.ru/forum/topic-2202.html Gradat Magazine: Reflections on Architecture during the Socialist Period in Bulgaria (article in Bulgarian) https://gradat.bg/architecture/2009/04/24/709855_razsujdeniia_za_arhitekturata_po_ vremeto_na_socializma Arhitektura Magazine, vol. 4, 1959 (in Bulgarian) Arhitekture Magazine, vol. 3-4, 1986 (in Bulgarian) Projects and Realization: Modern Suburbia in Bulgaria, arch. Boris Kondov (article in Bulgarian) History of Residential Area “Lyulin”, Presian Borisov (article in Bulgarian) Urban Development in Belgrade - 70 years. (site in Serbian) http://timeline.urbel.com/ Vecherni Novini Newspaper, 1981 (in Bulgarian) Competition for “Modern Suburb” (aka. Lyulin) with Entries in Arhitektura Magazine, 1980s (in Bulgarian) Large-panel Residential Buildings, Aleksandar Popov and Ivan Angelov, Sofia, Tehnika, 1966 (in Bulgarian) Large-panel Skeletal Residential Buildings, Sofia, Tehnika, 1960 (in Bulgarian) Industrialized Construction, Hristo Slavkov and Anton Nikolov, Sofia, Tehnika, 1975 (in Bulgarian) Bulgarian Photo Archives: Residential Buildings in Sofia - New Construction (1945–1981) (site in Bulgarian) http://www.archives.government.bg

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Residential Area “Trakia” in Plovdiv by Megan Lueneburg http://meganlueneburg.com/ Arhitektura i urbanizam magazine: 1974 - 1977 (in Serbian) We Are New Belgrade. Luka Kreze, 2013 (dissertation in English) Urban Housing Experiments in Yugoslavia 1948-1970, Studio Alfirevic (paper in English) Prefabricated Construction in Former Yugoslavia. Visual and Aesthetic Features and Technology of Prefabrication Jelica Jovanovic, Jelena Grbic, Dragana Petrovic (presearch paper in English) Prefabricated Construction System Jugomont from Zagreb ‘Horseshoe’ Building in Block 28 in New Belgrade, Dragana Mecanov (research paper in Serbian)

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The cover of an A-system catalogue

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Brandbergen and Storstugan A Reflection on how A-system Based Housing Develops Differently Depending on Geographical, Political and Ownership Related Circumstances Lisa Enbom Ellen Forsberg Patrik Vikberg

Between 1965 and 1974, one million homes were built in Sweden as a governmental initiative to reduce the overcrowding and improve the living conditions of the Swedish population.

Single family homes and low-rise apartment buildings were part of the Million Program, but the building typology most associated with this period is the high-rise apartment block. The image of the high-rises was at the beginning of the era a connotation to new techniques and to a modern way of living. But soon, the reputation started to shift and the general opinion stated that the housing of the Million Program Era was repetitive, ugly and of poor quality. These opinions have affected several of these areas and their inhabitants in many ways, still do today. However, not all areas have been affected in the long run, and in this research project we have focused on what factors that might have been contributing to the fate of the different areas.

By studying two projects within the Stockholm region with different socioeconomic statuses and reputations - the Brandbergen area south of Stockholm and the building block Storstugan in Täby - built during almost the same time period with the same prefabricated construction system A-system and by common actors like HSB, JM and SIAB, we wanted to see if there were any notable differences between rental housing and cooperatively owned housing. If any differences would be found, we also wanted to distinguish what they were depending on; the geographic location, the local political governance, the ownership status, the history of the area or something else. By categorising the contributing factors, we want to broaden the perspective and to kill the myth of the repetitive, ugly and poor quality panel system construction as the sole reason to the bad reputation and segregation in the Million Program areas.

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Owning the Right to Dwell?

Lisa Enbom Research shows that there are many advantages in owning your housing, but not all households have the economic or social conditions to do so. The intense housing market has over the last years increased the divide between rich and poor, which creates segregation between higher income areas with co-op apartments and lower income areas with rental apartments. How come, that rental housing should not be cared for and valued the same way as owned housing?

And who’s responsibility is it to provide people with affordable and good housing in an area where there would like to live, no matter owning conditions?

According to Social Benefits of Homeownership and Stable Housing by Lawrence Yun, Ph.D. and Nadia Evangelou, ”research supports the view that homeownership brings substantial social benefits”. By looking at trends in the United States, they have found that the desire for homeownership is strong, but that the lack of affordable housing close to people’s work places complicates and limits ownership for citizens with low incomes. Yun and Evangelou further explain that neighbourhoods with a high percentage of homeowners tend to be perceived as more stable, as that category of people moves less in general. The Current Population Survey of 2015 stated that the most common reasons to move were to move ”to a better home, a better neighbourhood, or into cheaper housing.”

Furthermore, their text implies that in general, people living in rental housing have a lower income than people owning their housing. Low income is in turn related to frequency of moving. This suggests that areas with many low-income citizens are perceived as less stable and unsafe. Yun and Evangelou also mention that renters ”with less wealth tied to a specific locality” tend to care less about their surrounding environment and about protecting the value of their property. They also describe that homeowners contribute more to their neighbourhood because of their investment in an object within it. To secure the value of the owned property, the interest in enhancing both the housing itself and the area surrounding it increases. By engaging in the neighbourhood, homeowners also expand their social capital and contributes in making the area a safe platform to interact on. The mobility and the lack of social network in rental areas increases the risk of criminality according to Yun and Evangelou’s research.

In other countries, other tendencies can be found. Nayla Fuster, Rowan Arundel and Joaquin Susino has found that after the economic crisis in Spain, homeownership has transformed ”from a dominant symbol of stability and security to one of danger associated with dispossession and financial risk”. Their text From a Culture of Homeownership to Generation Rent: Housing Discourses of Young Adults in Spain describes how the tenure is now seen as a security for flexibility. While the economics of the housing sector has changed in Sweden over recent years, we have not yet reached the kind of crisis that would demand a high flexibility in mobility. It is still possible to make grand profit in the housing industry in Sweden, of which the acquisition of real estate in Sweden by German companies is an example.

An interesting and highly relevant question concerning the differences between owning and renting housing was asked by William M. Rose and Mark Lindblad in Reexamining

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the Social Benefits of Homeownership After the Housing Crisis: ”If one were to rent a home of similar type, size, condition, and neighbourhood to an owned unit, and live in it the same length of time, would there be any difference in the social outcomes?”. Since Yun and Evangelou’s research claimed that citizens renting their housing are moving more often than homeowners, this question connected to the other factors mentioned in Social Benefits of Homeownership and Stable Housing relates to our original thesis about widening the perspective of the problematics of the reputations of many Million Program Era neighbourhoods.

Since many of these areas consist of only or a majority of rental housing they would, according to the facts presented above, hypothetically have problems with people moving out, lacking social networks, poor care of their housing and neighbourhood and also increased risks of criminal activities in the area.

All above mentioned texts have been focusing on the differences between the role of the tenant and the role of the homeowner, but what if we change focus to instead ask the question of whom or what is owning the rental apartments and why that person or corporation should not be as eager as homeowners to provide a safe, well maintained and appreciated building for its residents. In the documentary Push, we can see that the circumstances for many tenants has worsened over time. Instability in the ownership, where venture capital companies are selling and buying housing all over the world, is causing increased rents, an unclear relationship to one’s landlord and uncertain living conditions.

By 2010, only 20% of all municipal real estates from the Million Program Era had been renovated, and the expected cost per apartment is approximately 1 million crowns.

The high cost depends on the need to maintain both interiors, installations and exteriors.

Carl Mossfeldt, CEO at Tällberg Foundation explains in an article in Svenska Dagbladet that ”it’s a re-planning project of the same dignity as that of the 60s, but today, the power is decentralised in a totally different way - it is a lot harder for today’s government to take such a brave initiative.”.

And it is not only for the municipal rental housing that the due date has passed; many private landlords have not been doing their job in maintaining the edifices and their surroundings. Today, when rental companies are investing in new real estates, they usually implement a program where they renovate the apartments as soon as someone moves out and then increase the rent by a quite big percentage. In Brandbergen, the rent for a two bedroom apartment would increase from 8 100 crowns to 10 500 crowns after a renovation, a large amount of money to many households.

Tenants of the rental areas cannot be blamed for the poor and insufficient actions of their landlords. It should be primarily in the interest of the landlord to maintain and enhance the living environment for its residents, just like most homeowners would. If more research would be done to specifically investigate how the role and the actions of the owners of the rental housing impact the behaviours of their tenants, I believe we would get closer to answering William M. Rose and Mark Lindblad’s question.

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HSB’s Design Contributions Ellen Forsberg The Swedish organization HSB has during the 20th century been a big contributor to the housing production in Sweden. This short essay is focused on the design processes and design solutions that HSB contributed with. What can we learn from one of the largest housing developers’ way of tackling design questions of mass housing production?

HSB Stockholm, Hyresgästernas Sparkasse- och Byggnadsförening i Stockholm [The Renters’ Savings fund and Building Association in Stockholm], was originally founded in 1923. It quickly grew, and a national equivalent organization was started only a year later, HSB:s Riksförbund [HSB’s National Association]. They were actors in city planning and housing production and helped to provide good enough housing for the people of Sweden, with the tenants in focus. The HSB associations, both national and local ones, tried to answer the question of how the new industrialized and urbanized Sweden should house its citizens. The housing conditions had worsened due to the overcrowded cities and Sweden had the worst housing situation in Europe at the turn of the 19th century.

One of the founders of HSB, and later CEO of HSB’s Riksförbund and director of the HSB Arkitektkontor [HSB Architecture Office] was Sven Wallander. At first, the architecture office was separated from the larger association, but in 1945, a new organization strategy took place, and an architecture sub department was created under a technical department, directly under the HSB’s Riksförbund’s CEO. Sven Wallander was a key figure in the transition to a modern society during the first half of the 20th century. In October 1933, he became one of five people responsible for the Bostadssociala Utredningen [The Social Housing Investigation], ordered by the social minister at the time, Gustaf Möller. The investigation targeted the slum areas in Sweden’s largest cities and created guidelines for how the question of housing should move forward. Through his position as CEO, as architect and as part of the Social Housing Investigation, Sven Wallander and HSB managed to build apartments for people with lower income.

The technical department was led by Curt Strehlenert between 1942 and 1975. The technical department and its sub departments have been characterized by a collective way of working. This was at the time a new way of setting up an office, in contradiction to the traditional personal architecture offices. HSB’s technical department and the KF:s (Kooperativa Förbundets) architectural office were the only two of this kind at the time, and laid the ground for what nowadays is called ‘anonymous architecture offices’. At places like this, the collective or the group, is responsible and gets credit for the architecture, and not only the founder.

HSB designed over 250 000 housing units during these 33 years, but Strehlenert made the architects focus on the specifics of the project designed at the moment. The building processes needed to become standardized, but Strehlenert also wanted to allow the architects to design freely. He wanted the buildings and the projects to develop through a dialogue between local circumstances and the architects’ ideals and visions. In 1966, HSB’s National Association, signed a contract with a concrete element producer, A-Betong. The structural system, A-System, became a base for the prefabricated mass house production by HSB. It was an open and adaptable system, which could be modified, and concrete elements could be special made for specific projects. This

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allowed the architects, HSB Architecture Department and other architects HSB collaborated with, to design freely. Volume, form and shape were in the hands of the architects.

The same year, in Täby Centrum, a northern suburb in Stockholm, a majority of the concrete elements used were already designed by the engineers at A-System and A-Betong, but new ones was drawn and casted to accommodate the design of the project. The design work was done by a team led by Karl Gustaf Brokvist. Karl Gustaf Brokvist and his coworker Hans-Olof (Olle) Holst did several projects together, Storstugan was one of them. Brokvist was usually focused on the organization and layout processes, and Holst more on the aesthetics. First, they did individual sketching, and after that, they analyzed their combined ideas. The half circular shape of the two buildings included in the project Storstugan, was made possible with the concrete element system. A majority of the concrete elements used were already designed by the engineers at A-System and A-Betong, but new ones were drawn and casted to accommodate the design of the project.

The HSB technical department, including the architecture office and others, worked the most in the 1960s and 70s, during the planning and production of the Swedish Million Program.

After the economic crisis and when the Million Program was done in 1975, HSB’s own design processes decreased, along with a reduced technical department.

To summarize, the HSB associations have played several roles in providing and fulfilling the needs of housing in Sweden during the 20th century. The technical department at HSB has provided us with alternative ideas of how to see and work with mass produced architecture. Maybe, prefabricated system-built projects were able to house millions of Swedes successfully, only because they were influenced and processed by several teams of architects. Maybe, the idea of the mass produced, affordable housing, and the idea of week designed environments for all people, need to be combined to successfully create homes for everyone. Today, HSB still works with its members to build and maintain good living environments. But, the focus has slightly shifted, from demanding better housing in general and producing houses and apartments for the poorest in the society, to accommodate today’s need for sustainable, lasting and affordable housing. Nowadays, HSB works more with construction and maintenance, the design process is left to other architecture and design actors.

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Designing and living with A-System Patrik Vikberg This essay aims to form a better understanding of what possibilities and limitations A-system offered the architect and to see how it affects people living in it. This is done by investigating the specific building components used in the Storstugan building as well as interviewing its residents.

The A-System concrete panel system was used during the million program era to create around 45 000 apartments around Sweden. The parent company A-Betong looked at many different building systems all around Europe and the Soviet Union before licensing the Danish Jespersen system and developing it. Many other systems were using larger, room sized, panels and were suitable for developers taking charge of the whole production chain, from location planning to finished building. The Jespersen and later A-System featured smaller panels that could more easily accommodate different types of projects, room sizes, facades etc.

The building system is constructed in accordance with a grid pattern that has 30cm intervals in one direction and 120cm in the other. The load bearing inner walls are placed on the 30cm interval axis and floor panels spanning the other. Non load bearing walls are built on site and placed freely, meaning that the only system limitation to room size is a 30cm increment in one direction. Knowing that Storstugan was built with government subsidized loans conditioned on following the guidelines in God Bostad, we can compare the required room sizes and room relations to Storstugan and see that the building system enabled the requirements to be met with very small deviations. From this the conclusion can be drawn that A-system gives freedom of floor plan design to the developer. For the residents on the other hand the opposite can be seen. The load bearing inner walls prevent changes in the layout of the apartments. And in the case of Storstugan the only alterations made to the load bearing walls since it was built, are a few cases where new doorways have been opened up.

The fact that the interior walls are load bearing, in theory leaves the facade free to express whatever the architect wants. The choice could be made to replace the system facade elements with any type of facade. In Storstugan the parts of the facade protected by overhanging balconies are built in a timber framework and features almost wall to wall windows. This is a great asset to the residents as it brings lots of daylight in to the rooms and maximises the view from the tall building.

Another perk of the massive inner walls is its soundproofing capabilities. A feature necessary between appartements but appreciated between bedrooms. A-system worked with surveys and experiments to ensure that their buildings performed well in regards to sound transmission and in Storstugan it shows. The tall building required the thicker standard (160mm) load bearing walls which gives better soundproofing than the thinner. The parquet flooring is laid floating on a bed of sand that absorbs footfall and other sounds and stops them from transmitting through the floor slab. In general the building system performs well towards its residents. None of the interviewed in Storstugan has experienced problems with sounds from neighbors reaching their appartements.

The thermal insulation in the sandwich facade elements seems to be enough even in the coldest winters. Cold air leakage or thermal bridging only recorded as a problem in the joint between the facade element and on site built outer wall of the bathroom. This regrettably resulting in nearly

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freezing temperatures in the adjacent bedroom closet on cold and windy days.

In the early plans, drawings and models of storstugan the architects vision can be clearly seen. Here the form of Storstugan is completely rounded in both facade and balconies. A continuous building body with few interruptions focused on horizontal curved lines. Due to politics and economics the initial height of the building was cut down. After that the architects changed the look of the facade to feature a more vertical expression. The reason for the change in expression could be purely aesthetic but it is likely that the economics of the project hinged upon the A-system being used and that the system could not produce a curved form. Storstugan had to be constructed with straight building segments and the fault lines between them were covered up by vertical rows of balconies, angled to help the impression of a round form. The new expression of the building is thereby likely a product of the building system more than an active design choice by the architect.

The slight angle of the gable wall on each building segment is what creates the rounded shape when put together. This necessity from an architectural standpoint could not be accommodated by the standard A-system components. All floor slabs meeting this wall had to be specially made. The system could thereby conform to the architectural vision but it increased the cost and made it hard to acquire the government loan which demanded a low variation in building elements. Further the appearance of the gables and windowed sections of the facade are strongly shaped by the building system. The gaps between the facade tiles clearly show that this i a system built house. According to one of the architects Olle Holst it would be dishonest to hide it, and even important to put it on display. This shows that at the time the look of prefabrication was in style but at the same time it was probably not an economical possibility to deviate further from the standard building elements. Thereby leaving the architects own design contributions on these surfaces reduced to what could be put as ballast in the concrete.

In conclusion the A-system gave the architects more freedom in expression and floor plan design than many other prefabricated concrete building systems at the time, but it is clear that it too came with a whole range of limitations. Not only to the architects but also residents wanting to reshape their homes.

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Bibliography

”Akelius vinner striden om Mandamus”. (2003-05-28). SvD Näringsliv ”Allmännyttiga bostäder i Haninge”. Skriftlig fråga 2000/01:1239 av Hellberg, Owe (v).

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Berglund, Kristina. (2008:55) ”Plan för byggd miljö − förr och nu”. BHT. Generalplan ritad av Sune Lindström Bostadsrättföreningen Storstugan: ”Berättelse om bostadsrättsföreningens tillkomst”. Found at: https://brfstorstugan.com/historia/ Braconier, Fredrik. ”Akelius stärker sin position”. (2004-07-15). SvD Näringsliv ”BYT TILL NYRENOVERAT”. VictoriaPark.se. sv-se/F%C3%B6rhyresg%C3%A4ster/Nyrenoverat

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”Det går en skarp klassgräns genom Haninge”. (2006-08-22). Offensiv, Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna ”Det mesta är dåligt med Akelius i Brandbergen”. (2012-10-07). Mitt i Haninge.

Duvhök, Ivar; Olsson Lennart. (2004). A-Betong - Berättelser om ett företag, dess födelse och kamp för överlevnad och framgång i olika skeden Fuster, Nayla, Arundel, Rowan and Susino, Joaquin. (2018-10-04). From a Culture of Homeownership to Generation Rent: Housing Discourses of Young Adults in Spain. Found at: https://www. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13676261.2018.1523540 Gullberg, Anders; Pemer, Andreas. ”Tre turbulenta decennier 1980–2010, Rapsodi från Stockholms byggochfastighetsvärld”. (2012) Murmestare Embetet i Stockholm, Årskrift 2011. pp. 24-48 Gustafson, Lars. (1974). HSB under femtio år. Stockholm: Barnängen Tryckerier AB Haninge Kommun/White Architects. (2014) ”Image och Identitet i Brandbergen” Haninge Municipality Drawing Archive ”Haninge – under marknadens diktatur”. (2006-08-11). Offensiv, Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna Harlén, Hans; Harlén Eivy (2003). Sverige från A till Ö: geografisk-historisk uppslagsbok Hedenmo, Martin; von Platen, Fredrik (2007). Bostadspolitiken - Svensk politik för boende, planering och byggande under 130 år. Karlskrona: Boverket

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Häggmark, Eva. (2013-03-12). ”Sven Wallander Moderniserade Bostäderna”. HSB-historien.se Johnson, Göran. (2014-12-11). RUFS-Konferens. ”Regionplaneringens betydelse”. Found at: http://www.rufs.se/globalassets/d.-rufs-2010/process-och-dialog/regional-dialog/lagetistockholmsregionen/2014/regionplaneringens_betydelse_goran_johnson.pdf ”Konsortium köper för 1,4 Mdr i Haninge”. (2001-05-08). Fastighetsvärlden.se Lago, Lina. (2004). ”Makt, planering och miljonprogrammet - En maktanalys av bostadsområdet Navestad och dess planering och utformning” Lundevall, Owe. (1996). HSB och bostadspolitiken 1966-1980. Kristianstad: Kristianstads Boktryckeri AB Magnusson, Filip. (2018-12-19). ”Akelius säljer över 2000 hyresrätter i Haninge”. Mitt i Haninge Mossfeldt, Carl. (2011-06-29). “Miljonprogrammet kräver nationell mobilisering”. Dagens Samhälle Nylander, Ola. (2018). Svensk bostadsarkitektur - utveckling från 1800-tal till 2000-tal. pp.

208-211 PUSH, documentary. (2019) Directed by: Gertten, Fredrik Rohe, William M. and Lindblad, Mark. (2013-08). Reexamining the Social Benefits of Homeownership After the Housing Crisis. Found at: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/ files/hbtl-04.pdf Roxvall, Anna. (2010-08-25). “Miljardrustning - miljonprogrammet måste renoveras. Svenska Dagbladet.

SOU 1971:52. Byggandets industrialisering Stenberg, Erik (ed.). (2013). Structural Systems of the Million Program Era Strehlenert, Curt. (1993). HSB:s Tekniska kontor 1942-1975. Stockholm: Arkitekturmuseet Svensson, Per. (1996) Storstugan eller när förorten kom till byn Söderqvist, Lisbeth. (1999). Rekordår och miljonprogram Täby Municipality Drawing Archive ”Vi är HSB”. Found 2019-10-12, at: https://www.hsb.se/stockholm/om-hsb/ Yun, Lawrence and Evangelou, Nadia. (2016-12). Social Benefits of Homeownership and Stable Housing. National Association of Realtors. Found at: https://realtoru.edu/wp-content/ uploads/2014/06/Homeownership-Stable-Housing.pdf

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Arne Malmström CEO of AB Hälsingborgshem showing off the construction of Drottninghög

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A Story of Scales Drottninghög and Marzahn Sherin Roth Tobias Lundgren Johannes Hackethal Sigrun Borgen This project was based on an initial curiosity in the reuse and refurbishment of old system built housing. Drottninghög and Marzahn are both examples of system built housing where, after decades of use and decay, a series of actions have been and are continuously being taken into the maintenance and modernization of the buildings. In the recent years, Marzahn has been the subject of a number of studies carried out in order to investigate the possibility of panel reuse, and a similar study is now being executed in Drottninghög. In order to grasp the differing possibilities and challenges of future panel reuse in these particular projects it is essential to have an understanding of the historical, social, technical and architectural characteristics.

Drottninghög is a small development in Helsingborg, and was designed and built in close relation with the local municipality in the late 1960’s. The project was started in the infancy of the million program, a program initiated to provide a million new homes in response to the post-war housing shortage in Sweden. Marzahn, located in east Berlin, is on the other hand the largest prefabricated housing developments in Europe. The area was rapidly developed in the late 70’s, a time when Germany was still in political division, and the need for housing was desperate. Even though the two projects were built in order to efficiently provide housing as many people as possible, these vast differences in scale and political circumstances have shaped two contrasting projects.

This exhibition explores how these differences have manifested in terms of engineering, technology, urban and architectural plan as well as social and political environment in the past, present and future. This way we are able to unpack the differing challenges and opportunities of the future of panel reuse.

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A STORY OF SCALES - DROTTNINGHÖG AND MARZAHN

The Role of the Architect in the GDR Sherin Roth The second world war left almost a quarter of all homes and apartments in Germany completely or partially destroyed. In Berlin these numbers were considerably higher, more than half of the homes were left in ruins. This lead to a shortage of 1.4 million apartments. Despite this shortage relatively few apartments were built between 1945 and the 1960s, and those apartments that remained were rarely renovated. In 1961 the authorities declared 10,3 percent of all apartments were unfit to live in. One third of all apartments in the larger cities in Germany had no running water, in smaller cities these numbers reached two thirds. In East Germany a third of the apartments had an indoor toilet and only one in forty had central heating. For the communist government of East Germany, the answer to this housing shortage was Plattenbau – prefabricated concrete panel buildings. One example of an area with Plattenbau is Marzahn in East Berlin which we have been studying during this project.

With this desperate need for housing and the wish to rebuild the country, comes a need for architects. This text examines the role of the architect in the GDR and what the conditions looked like for the architects in their professional practice. What factors did they have to relate to and how did this affect the design of the buildings?

In his book “Architekten in der DDR: Realität und Selbstverständnis einer Profession” Tobias Zervosen writes about the role of the architect in the GDR, how the architects had to adapt and relate to a number of factors which limited their opportunities to express their personal thoughts and ideas. One main factor was the strict framework set by the government which created conformity and prevented rebellious expressions and innovative design. The political ideals permeated all activities and everyday life for all citizens, architects were no exception. For architects the relationship with the government became especially important after the abolition of ownership of real-estate. This lead to the state taking over ownership and making them the main customer and employer of architects. The independent architect was replaced by the state- employed architect with terms of employment that demanded conformity and pushed the architect profession towards a more collective approach. My interpretation of Zervosen is that despite this rigid framework and dominating ideology the architects were still allowed artistic freedom. It was important however that the architects followed the political, communist, ideals, for an example the idea that the collective was more important than the individual or the abolishment of a class society.

While the architects in the GDR in most ways were isolated from the west and the artistic ideals and ideas blooming there, they were not completely separated. Zervosen states that the modern architecture produced in the GDR only can be understood both as a part of the global design movement during the 1950s till the 70s and as a product of the development of the socialist state and society in East Germany. Instead of just continuing the “International Style” 1 the architects of East Germany developed their own style of modernistic architecture, characterised by socio-political evoked features transformed into design. The rational and standardized design principles that were used in the GDR should be view in the same way, as a part of a global trend. Standardized design was not a phenomenon unique for the east

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German architecture and city planning. Similar stylistic tendencies could be observed in other countries during the same time period. Although the extent, to which these rationalistic design principles were applied in the GDR from the beginning of the 1950s till 1989, can be considered unique for East Germany. The standardized architecture stood at the centre of the growing construction industry in the GDR. One of the main reasons for the popularity of this standardized architecture was its cost efficiency and how fast it was to produce and assemble. From a political point of view, it also served the ideological desire to prevent an individualisation of the architects. The construction industry was another factor the architects had to relate to, for instance the competence of the labour and the material available. Even though the artistic additions of the architects were visible in many cases, they were more often than not subordinated the materials and the construction technical prerequisites and a clear example of this is the buildings in Marzahn. The dwellings are build using a system called WBS-70 and the load bearing elements consists of 6 meter wide concrete panels set in a rigid grid pattern. With this system you can choose between 5, 6 or 11 stories for the buildings and the building blocks created with this system have two main representations, one curved-and one rectangular block. This is a clear example of design subordinated to the material and the construction technical prerequisites. Since the WBS-70 system uses a grid pattern for its loadbearing walls a variety of floor plans are possible. Non-loadbearing walls are just placed within the grid. This is an example of where the architects could apply their own ideas and additions.

A conclusion I make from Zervosens’ text is that relating and adapting to different factors is an essential part of the architect profession in all countries, different governmental systems and times. The same factors which affected the architects of the GDR will affect architects everywhere and determine to which extent they can realize their personal ideas and ideals. How many factors, and which, will affect the architects the most, differs on the other hand from country to country, governmental systems and times. Somewhere politics might be the dominant factor while the available material might matter more somewhere else. No matter which, and what kinds of factors is most important the architects will find a way to work and create with and within these frames. Like Tobias Zervosen states in the conclusion of his study, despite the limitations created by politics and ideology, the architects had a strong impact on the architecture in East Germany. There was no architecture without politics, but also no architecture without architects.

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A STORY OF SCALES - DROTTNINGHÖG AND MARZAHN

Plan to Panels Panels to Plan Tobias Lundgren In the 1960s, there was a fast housing development boom in Sweden. The Swedish government decided to encourage the creation of functional spaces by making studies to reach standardized measurements for living spaces. These highly ambitious rationalizations, optimizations and standardization of habitation practices were then published in the book “God Bostad”. The conclusions of these studies were now considered standards for design and planning of residential buildings.

Drottninghög, was planned and built in the mid to late 1960s. It was part of the national initiative “miljonprogrammet”, which was to create one million homes in ten year. The project was to be locally developed by Helsingborgs municipality and its public housing company, Helsingborgshem AB. The project was set to be the biggest housing development in the history of Helsingborg as to was planned to contain 1100 apartments. This project was nationally funded, meaning that even though this was a municipally developed project, the design was subject to the standardization and subsequent dimensioning stipulated by “God Bostad” (as much of the project funding depended on following its standards).

This project was thus part of the early years of mass produced housing in Sweden.

Translating into a fair deal of experimentation by the project developers, architects and engineers, that had to come up with proposals on how this goal of 1100 apartments could be reached with modern technology and mass production.

In the experimental phase, it was decided that load bearing concrete panels were to be used for walls. Both walls and floors were to be prefabricated panels. In contrast with all the previous architecture projects, the panels were being prefabricated in a factory in Helsingborg and then transported to the site of Drottninghög only for assembly. A completely new way of thinking about building construction in the post World War II context.

Panels were to be room sized, as it was thought to be a good way to rationalize the structure through the dimensions of the functional spaces. The architects largely controlled the distribution of spaces in the floor-plan, but with lesser influence on the dimensioning of the actual functional spaces themselves, as this was previously defined by “God Bostad”. This is illustrated in the floor-plans of Drottninghög. As the floor slabs and walls of the project were prefabricated to the sizes of the rooms, the structure of the building is almost completely dictating the layout of the apartments, with few exceptions of walls being built after the prefabricated concrete walls were installed.

One important consequence of this type of building is that as the structure is highly specific to the floor-plan, the layout of the apartments are also, to a large extent, fixed. Meaning they can not easily change over time as it is difficult and expensive to modify the buildings structure.

In mid 1970 Germany, when neglect and prolonged East-West conflicts had lead to a continuous degradation of the existing housing stock, as well as limited number of new housing developments, a future mass housing development neighborhood in East-Berlin was started : Marzahn. This was driven by a need to improved living conditions for the general public of East Berlin.

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Marzahns housing projects were developed and lead by the German Democratic Republic, the objective was to alleviate the need for housing through highly optimized, (certainly) economically, large scale housing blocks. Marzahn being the largest with over 60.000 apartments. Once more, the housing blocks where largely developed though the standardization of the construction though rationalized concrete prefabrication systems.

The most ubiquitous prefabrication system being WBS 70, which was used for most of the housing blocks developed in Marzahn. The WBS 70 is a system which works on a 6x6m grid.

It meant to allow for diverse floor plan solutions, by creating a three-dimensional framework for the architect to then develop their plans. As the floor-plans of the buildings of Marzahn were developed in an already designed structural system, much of the work of the architects was done internally within the grid. Meaning that rooms were then created, not with the concrete structural walls, but with thinner internal walls which were built after the structural frame was already fully installed. As a result, the layout of the apartments in Marzahn are much more flexible to change over time as they are not dictated by the structure in the same way.

In conclusion, when comparing the floor plans for Drottninghög versus Marzahn one can see that, even though both are examples of prefabricated concrete panel housing projects, the way the layout of the apartments (or living spaces) relate to the structural system is completely different. In my opinion, Drottninghög driving force is the dimensions of the rooms, dictated by “God Bostad”, translated to the prefabricated panels. In contrast, in the Marzahn project the panel system came first and the room dimensions (floor plans) came after, resolved in the context of the structural system.

Interestingly the functional spaces of the final floor-plans are more or less equal in their proportions (for example, in both cases there are living rooms of 21 m2), even though the planning and conception of these two mass housing estates are radically different. This being because neither of them were necessarily limited by the prefabrication system used. In the case of Drottninghög, the early experimental process allowed for the architects to largely influence the prefab panel dimensions, thus insuring that the prefab “system” did not get in the way of the living spaces. In the case of Marzahn, the WBS 70 was never envisioned to be the only layout tool for the apartments. This is why looking at the Prefabricated walls and the Additional walls separately is so interesting as it illustrates from where the definition of the space comes from. In Drottninghög from the Prefabricated walls, and in Marzahn from the Additional walls. Even though together they create closely related housing condition.

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Panel Reuse Potentials Johannes Hackethal The planned changes in the quarter of DrottninghĂśg are currently necessitating a new view of the existing prefabricated buildings there. The planned demolitions and new construction projects raise questions about the sustainability and recycling of the existing buildings.

These questions were already asked in Marzahn ten years ago, because in this often-larger area and due to poor maintenance measures, much earlier replanning had to take place.

Despite many studies and pilot projects, the reuse of concrete panels is still a rarity. Why this is the case and where the potentials and opportunities of this technology lie will be briefly summarized here.

In the period from 1945 to 1989, approximately 1.5 million flats were built in the GDR using the prefabricated construction method. 43.5 % of these used the WBS 70 system, which was introduced in the early 1970s. In this way, large housing estates such as Marzahn with up to 100,000 apartments were created in this system alone. As a result of reunification and the resulting collapse of entire industrial estates, the population migrated to West Germany for work-related reasons. This led to increased vacancies in many large housing developments in eastern Germany, so that initially many of the buildings, which were only 10 or 15 years old, were demolished and the remains were dumped or used for road construction. But with the emerging climate awareness and rising material prices, solutions were sought at the turn of the millennium. How could the existing stock and therefore the resources be used in the future?

The result was experimental buildings and studies dealing with the disassembly and reassembly of concrete panels. These test projects proved not only that the dismantling of prefabricated buildings is possible and that the construction site processes have been solved, but also that dismantled prefabricated parts are suitable for reuse in low-storey buildings. In addition, it turned out that the reassembly of prefabricated elements does not require significantly higher expenditure compared to dismantling. In addition, the reuse of prefabricated parts has only a negligible impact on interior costs.

The successful test projects were followed by studies that analyzed their economic efficiency, optimization potentials and ecological effects. For example, is there one study from 2008 that shows, that the environmental savings in pollutants and CO2 would be enormous.

Because each average prefabricated apartment of the WBS 70, generates 90 to 100 tons of demolition material. It is assumed that in the next 10 - 15 years approx. 500.000 prefabricated apartments will be taken off the market, that would be between 45 million and 50 million tons of rubble. Assuming an average reuse rate of approx. 60%, which corresponds to all ceiling panels, exterior and interior walls, 30 million tonnes of reusable components are available.

Each reused tonne of dismantled old concrete components can save 397 kg CO2, so that almost 12 million tonnes of CO2 could be saved by using this potential. The economic analysis of the overall process also shows a savings potential in the use of old concrete panels compared with demolition and conventional new construction. In addition, a remaining static usage

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period of more than 50 years can be expected for the prefabricated parts from the classic prefabricated slab construction after 1977 that are obtained during dismantling.

Based on these promising findings, it was investigated which basics have to be created in order to make the reuse of precast concrete panels common practice.

This revealed that the marketing of concrete elements and construction elements is to a large extent an organizational problem. On the one hand by some legal ambiguities, as there are currently no general rules for the use of recycled concrete elements. This leads to the fact that the approval effort is much more time-consuming and labour-intensive than for conventional new buildings. In addition, it is common practice to agree with the award of a contract that the construction company which is commissioned with the dismantling of the construction also becomes the owner of the material. As the marketing, transport and storage of the material require a great deal of logistical effort, as well as difficult to calculate factors in the tendering process, this is hardly practicable. Due to the large quantities of material and the high coordination effort required, only the owners themselves are actually in a position to initiate marketing. This means there must be a rethink that a housing company is not only there to manage housing, but also the material resource currently tied up in the residential buildings. The 8.5 million ready-to-use concrete slabs that will be available for secondary use in the future will have to be considered in the contract for dismantling. In order to offer the housing companies, the possibility of marketing, simple structures such as a central component exchange platform must be created.

In this way, a good planning basis could be achieved by finding out which systems and elements are available and in what quality. This would allow architects and planners to better design and calculate with these elements, so that the potential for disassembly and reassembly of the panels could be optimised.

Regional component exchange platforms already exist, but unfortunately, they are currently still very unknown in planner’s circles. This is also because of the still existing negative image, which adheres to the prefabricated buildings, as well as the unawareness about the fact that there is a large scope for design, so that projects can be individually planned and built. However, examples of projects with high architectural quality are still rare, which is why they are hardly discussed in among architects. However, economic impulses such as low-interest credits or a promotion of innovation could provide new arguments for building with used concrete elements that are environmentally friendly and recyclable. In order for these to reach the market effectively, it would be necessary to create generally approved rules of technology for the use of recycled concrete elements and, additionally a legal regulation of unclear legal issues.

Unfortunately, this has not yet been implemented, although some of these measures were recommended in studies more than ten years ago. Why these approaches have not been pursued further, especially in the current climate debate, is unfortunately incomprehensible to me.

After all, these basic research projects are still helpful to pave the way for new projects such as the one in DrottninghĂśg in order to use at least parts of the potential of old prefabricated buildings.

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Possibilities of Panel Reuse in Sweden Sigrun Borgen After the housing shortage after World War II, thousands of mass housing projects were built throughout Europe. Today, half a century later, the majority of these estates are decomposing materially as well as socially. Many of the larger cities in Europe are facing a housing crisis, the need for livable housing is desperate, and we cannot afford losing these old estates to decay.

Simultaneously, as global warming and environmental issues are becoming increasingly more relevant, exploring sustainable alternatives in building construction is crucial.

The topic of recycling prefabricated panels from post war mass housing estates is a potential solution for these issues, from a sustainability perspective, as well as a social and political one. It is a topic that is fairly unexplored in Sweden, but it has been investigated in a number European institutes for decades already. Recently, the municipality of Helsingborg have showed interest in the research of a local estate of system built housing, Drottninghรถg.

By looking at previous research performed on panel reuse, we can identify some common characteristics of panel repurposing on an international scale. Can we draw parallels with the past studies and Drottninghรถg? What are the potential similarities and differences? And how can the development in Drottninghรถg potentially contribute to our knowledge on panel reuse on an international scale?

Many of the earlier studies on panel reuse were conducted in Germany, a country where prefabricated mass housing is widespread. The studies show a range of potentials, but also challenges related to the topic. In a study based at the TU Berlin a range of variables were studied to identify the challenges and opportunities related to panel reuse, including the quality of the panel, the quantity of appropriate donor buildings,the de- and reconstruction potential, the flexibility of the individual elements and logistical aspects (Asam 2007). In this research reuse of prefabricated elements have been found not only to be feasible, but also significantly more efficient in terms of embodied energy and sustainability, even when compared to more traditional recycling methods. Logistical aspects, such as storage, demand and profitability, however, was identified as the major challenges. These are all factors that are relevant for a number of prefabricated system housing developments, regardless of fabrication and context. This study can therefore constructively be used as a rough template for parameters to examine when determining potential projects for reuse. As Drottninghรถg has a one-off structure, it will be important to learn from overarching studies such as this, to determine potentials and challenges related to its unique fabric.

Similar research has been performed in Scandinavia in the later years, drawing on the knowledge obtained in other European countries. A recent, significant study from Tampere University of Technology, investigated prefabricated system housing more specifically in the Finnish context. In Finland, the systems used were less widespread and more specialised, using local factories and individual architecture and engineering, differentiating it from the more common standardized systems throughout Europe. However, a number of recurring factors throughout the Finnish buildings were identified based on the physical properties

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of the panels as well as the historic and contemporary rules and regulations (Huuhka 2015).

In conclusion, the panels were surprisingly homogenous, in spite of apartment buildings never being standardised in Finland. Historic changes in national rules on thermal and sound insulation, floor heights and room sizes were also identified as notable factors. As the Swedish and Finnish backgrounds are more comparable, we may be able to recognise various similarities. The systems used in Sweden and Finland were developed in close relation to one another, with resemblances in construction as well as architectural concepts. Drottninghög was also developed and manufactured locally, at a small scale similar to the way many Finnish systems were developed. Investigating parallels to Finnish systems while studying methods for repurposing of Drottninghög panels is therefore likely to be beneficial.

Panel recycling is a topic that is less researched in a Swedish context. A few one-off projects have however been realised. The Udden Project (1998, Linköping) and the more recent Nya Udden Project (2001, Linköping) were both erected using building elements from the 60’s and 70’s prefabricated apartment buildings. In the case of the former, a range of elements including walls, beams and foundations were used to create 22 new student apartments. In the latter project elements such as staircases, beams, partition- and outer walls were repurposed to create 54 small student flats. Although less than successful, several lessons were drawn from the projects. The main conclusion was that a greater proportion of reuse could be achieved if the room sizes of the new apartments resembled those of the demolished building. Similar to lessons learned in the Finnish context, acoustic and thermal insulation was identified as a notable challenge, due to the nature of the reconstruction as well as the change in building regulations. The cost was also significantly higher than a similar building using conventional materials, but this was not seen as a defeat, as the contractors were confident they would make up for it in future projects in larger scales, using the experiences gained. Moreover, the differentiation in cost was made up for in governmental subsidies (Addis 2006, 25-26). By looking at projects executed in a similar setting, we can replicate successful features, and change or develop the less successful. If we can take on some of the lessons from the Udden projects and translate it to the context of Drottninghög, we will identify that emphasis should be put on the design of room sizes, acoustics and thermal insulation. Efficiency in terms of economy is also an important aspect.

The context of prefabricated mass housing is vast and varied. The path to understanding them and their reuse is not straightforward. However, it is an important path to walk in order to tackle building decay, housing issues and environmental questions. The more we know about recycling prefabricated concrete panels in all of its contexts, the more holistic our comprehension of the topic will be. Explorations, such as the ones that are currently being surveyed in Drottninghög, might be challenging due to the lack of precedence, but that will be how we identify challenges and opportunities within the prospect of panel repurposing.

This way we can acquire a holistic view and discover fresh ways of approaching the topic.

Panel recycling is only in its infancy in Sweden, but slowly this path of research is unwinding also here, revealing a great potential for prefabricated concrete panel reuse.

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