Dissolving Stuga/ 24 Slusen | Stockholm, Sweden | Unit 21 | 2017

“24 SLUSSEN” is a re-masterplan of a disconnected and pedestrian-unfriendly waterfront area in Slussen, which is a traffic interchange, built in the 1930s that connects Gamla Stan and Sodermalm.

We visited Stockholm last November, and at that time, I was intrigued by the overall complexity of Slussen; however, it has been considered as a run-down traffic junction and failed public space at the heart of the city. The government held a regeneration competition in 2009. The current scheme includes a new traffic solution and a waterfront plaza with retail stores based on a complete demolishment. Through my site study, I found that there were problems with both the original design and the current scheme- The original design separates the waterfront from the existing city fabric and pedestrians with this enormous road infrastructure. The new proposal is controversial. The local residents keep protesting against it for two reasons: first, they don’t think a complete demolition is necessary; second, the design itself is not site-specific and has no link with the original design.

The aspiration of this project is to come up with an urban strategy, which reconnects people with the primary layer in this city- water; as well as to make it an inviting public waterfront area, which is more than just a transitional area, but a destination for both day and night. To achieve this, I proposed five 24-hour facilities by the waterfront, plus, a series of terraces woven into the existing height gap on site and supported by the retained concrete columns; in order to bridge people, facilities and the water edge together. Besides, in response to the local’s criticism, the design language I applied is inspired by the curvature of the clover-leaf interchange in the original design, which at that time almost gave cars a stage to perform a dance. I intended to preserve this feeling and use curvature in this project to create a stage of promenading pedestrians.

In terms of the 24-hour aspect of this project, I explored the light performance at night by considering Scandinavian darkness as a canvas and lights as paints. It sets a dialogue between physical space that people experience during the day and its night appearance.

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