Edited by Thordis Arrhenius and Marcelo Rovira Torres
KTH Royal Institute of Technology — School of Architecture Stockholm
COLOPHON
RE-Master Studio is an advanced architectural course run at KTH Royal Institute of Technology School of Architecture in Stockholm.
It is taught by Thordis Arrhenius and Marcelo Rovira Torres
Publication Design
Matthew Ashton
About the type Univers is used throughout this publication. The typeface was designed by the Swiss typographer Adrian Frutiger and released by Deberny & Peignot in 1957 — the same year as Helvetica.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without permission from the authors and the publisher.
ISBN 978-91-527-3660-9
Acknowledgements
Thanks to our many guests, hosts and critics who joined us during the academic year; Ulrika Karlsson (Studio Northern Grounds, KTH), Martin Nässén and Niklas Lindelöw (Studio Made of Stone, KTH), Sara Davin Omar (08demolition), Ola Broms Wessel (Spridd Arkitekter), Pernilla Remröd (Ahrbom & Partners), Johan Örn (KTH), Angelo Lunati (Polytechnic University of Milan), Philipp Schaerer (ENAC, EPFL), Matilda Svensk (Esencial), Joanna Zawieja (Swedish Art Council), Erik Stenberg (Studio Housing, KTH), Ethem Erdogan (KTH), Markus Aerni (KTH), Rutger Sjögrim (Studio Offshore, KTH), Martin Heidesjö (City Planning Office of Norrköping), Harold Fallon (KU Leuven), Johannes Robbrecht (Robbrecht en Daem Architecten), and Wim Boesten (Bovenbouw Architectuur), Caroline Vote (KU Leuven), Hera van Sande (KU Leuven), Wim Goes (KU Leuven) and finally our thanks to Klas Ruin (Spridd Arkitekter) and Martino Tattara (KU Leuven) that both acted as guest critics in Studio Remaster’s final review.
We also express our gratitude to architects Pär Eliaeson and Nilsson Samuelsson for generously sharing their research into Navestad’s housing complex. We also extend our heartfelt appreciation to Sam de Vocht (TU Delft) for his invaluable assistance in organizing the study trip to Belgium. And many thanks also to Ola Gustafsson (Norrköping City Library), Pernilla Pusa and Sofia Hammarqvist (Bildarkivet, Norrköping City Museum), as well as all the people at the Digital Technical Archive of Norrköping, for helping us orient ourselves in the rich local history of the city and making this semester possible.
Remaster 2023-2024
Monumentality and Mass
Parts and Wholes
Models and Typologies
Reconstructing Views
Learing from Norrköping
Mass Housing
CHANGE PRESERVATION
A central effect of global capitalism is the pressure of change. Urban patterns and building programs are increasingly becoming redundant, demanding change to accommodate new economies, functions, and identities. Working in the field of preservation, reuse and repair, the Remaster studio challenges contemporary architecture’s dedication to adapt, transform and change the built environment. The overall aim of the studio is to work out and test alternative modes to acknowledge change in the making of architecture today. Acknowledging the fundamental shift in our contemporary understanding of spatial and material resources preservation needs to move from the fringe of architectural culture into its core. Preservation is now.
Remaster studio at KTH addresses notions of change, permanence, and resilience through re-storation, re-use and re-pair. The overall methodological and pedagogical strategy is to explore the already present, the already built, thought and imagined.
Mass Housing Mass Ornament Mass Production Mass Media
In the post-war era, Sweden underwent a massive and impressive modernization of society that involved large building programs, specifically in the housing sector. An urgent issue today is how this extensive heritage from the welfare state is considered and reassessed in the deregulated market economy of today.
With a focus on the landscape and the monumental, Remaster studio has worked during the academic year 2023/24 with industrial-built and mass-produced architecture that has undergone major transformations and changes since being built to adapt to new ideologies and markets. The site for our investigation has been a series of typologically different mass housing projects - Navestad, Hageby, and Ljura — on the outskirts of the former industrial city of Norrköping in Sweden. Through speculative design proposals, we have explored how issues of repetition and mass production relate to preservation and change, how lost architectural qualities and values can be restored, new ones added, and existing ones repaired and reinforced.
Working with the mass-produced and repeated, the studio has paid specific attention to the power of the architectural representation. In preservation, drawing becomes primarily a tool of survey and analysis rather than projection and forecasting, altering the identity of the architectural work produced. Yet in the studio, we argue that the architectural analysis and survey work must be included in the architectural oeuvre and understood as an architectural work on its own terms. Crucial to the work of the studio is, therefore, to reflect, test, and most importantly, advance architectural representational tools and technologies—to become aware of the function of the drawing, the model, and the image in architectural production, both as a discursive and as a technical architectural tool.
The publication RE/8 shows fragments of the Remaster studio’s works during the academic year of 2023/2024. We have chosen to present our scale models and visual collages as a collective endeavour that together discusses the legacy and potential of post-war mass housing and landscapes.
Saline Royale, Arc-et-Senans, France, Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, 1775–1779
Hufeisensiedlung
L e s Espacesd'Abraxas Talponia
Eketorp
Grindtorp
Fort Boyard
EKETORPS BORG
Fort Boyard, France
1801–1866
Eketorp, one of the 15 known prehistoric ringforts on Öland, has undergone construction, reconstruction, adjustments, and periods of abandonment in the past centuries. Excavations between 1964 and 1973 led by Mårten Sternberg identified three distinct settlement phases. Based on these archeological finds Eketorp was partly reconstructed and serves as a museum until today., exhibiting the archeological finds and explaining the knowledge gained by the excavations.
Royal Crescent & Circus, Bath, UK
as no traces of the wood remained. The reconstruction of the wooden houses in the eastern part of the ringfort is
John Wood, the Younger, 1767–1774
Eketorp was constructed in the 4th century with a diameter of 57 meters. Eketorp’s placement at this site was likely due to the surrounding wetland, which offered protection against attackers and provided arable land. The absence of evidence for permanent habitation suggests that Eketorp I served as a temporary refuge.
Eketorp II replaced Eketorp I only a hundred years later, reflecting the need for a larger and more permanent space. Archaeological findings reveal indications of permanent housing and the existence of workshops, byres, storehouses, and dwelling houses. The stone houses of Eketorp II were reconstructed in the late 20th century in the western part of the ringfort. As drylimestone walling is still living tradtion in Öland it was easy to reconstruct the walls. In 1980, a two-week experiment involved people living in these reconstructed houses, using experimental archaeology to test the accuracy of the reconstruction. It was found that these houses required a significant amount of heating to remain warm, and the people of the 20th century were not accustomed to the level of smoke generated.
In the 7th century Eketorp was abondend and fell into ruins for the next 300 years.
reconstruction
EKETORP I
EKETORP II
Talponia Housing Complex,Ivrea, Italy
Roberto Gabetti and Aimaro Isola, 1968
Hufeisensiedlung, Britz, Berlin, Germany
Bruno Taut, 1925–1930
The Hulme Crescent, Manchester, UK
Hugh Wilson and J.L. Womersley 1972 (demolished 1993)
Grindtorp, Täby, Sweden
Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro, Lucca, Italy
100 BC / 1830
Eketorp Fortress, Öland, Sweden
Jan Gezelius (reconstruction)
Les Espaces d’Abraxas, Noisy-le-Grand, France. Ricardo Bofill, 1978
Talponia, photo credit: by Filippo Romano
Starting with the typology of circular mass housing buildings, we discussed issues such as the collective and the individual, the public and the private, repetition and identity, monumentalities and mass, and housing types and landscapes. The reference buildings, although similar in form, were chosen from a wide set of topologies and epochs and understood in their totality as architectural ‘entities’ that incorporated discourses, ideas, thoughts, and traditions that, taken together, had generated their shifting cultural meanings over time. This wider understanding of the architectural object has raised an urgent need in the studio to expand the notion of architecture and preservation beyond and before the physical building. The analysis of the case studies included, as well as their physical materiality and spatial configuration, media and representations from different contexts that together have constructed their meaning over time, such as users, authors, economic and cultural values, as well as historical interpretation, metaphors, assertions, and prejudices.
The Royal Crescent (MT)
Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro (SK)
Les Espaces d’Abraxas (WSC + MD)
The Circus (VdS)
Fort Boyard (FS + EM)
Hufeisensiedlung (FS + DM)
| Models and Typologies, Autumn 2023
Talponia Housing Complex (HdM)
The Hulme Crescent (JF + EO)
Grindtorp (CCY +SMa)
Drawing
The axonometric drawing became the novel representation method in the architecture of the Modern Movement – the objective high viewpoint of the axonometric replaced the subjective singular viewpoint of the one-point perspective that had dominated architectural representation since its invention in the early Renaissance. One version of the oblique axonometric drawing, the so-called cavalier perspective, literally means a view from the raised position of a horse) is a parallel projection with a horizontal projection plane and the centre of projection located at infinity. Such representation method arose in military architecture treatises of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and was thus known as prospettiva soldatesca or military perspective a term that stresses its simplicity and convenience, its empirical nature, and its lack of sophistication when compared with linear perspective.
Model
As explained by Antoine Quatrèmere de Quincy in his Dictionnaire historique d’architecture (1832) the model in architecture refers to the execution in relief, within a greatly reduced dimension (most often), of a building or a portion of a building, to better understand its effect, either for those commissioning the work or for those responsible for executing it. Without these preliminary models, it would be difficult to understand how the buildings will be perceived once completed, Quatrèmere de Quincy suggested. Even the most experienced artist would not dare to rely solely on assumptions. For this specific reason, models serve as one of the fundamental tools of the architect. But models also have a second meaning. The model is not only the constructed miniature artefact of the architect, but also a clearly defined, sometimes utopian, idea of an object or artifact. As Quatremère de Quincy points out in the passage about type, in the model, modèle,
everything is clearly defined and must be repeated as is. To reproduce a model means, in other words, to reproduce the object itself. In a retroactive attempt of constructing a model of a building that already has been built, we aim to use the model as a device that can reinstate and repair lost qualities of an existing building, as well as creating a projective, idealized, representative image of the same building.
Part and Wholes
The house of the director, in the very centre of the complex of the Royal Saltworks, allows the monitoring of the workers from the oculus in the tympanum. Anthony Vidler argues that Ledoux was the first to invent the panopticon and thus forgo the famous panopticon of Jeremy Bentham(1791). Indeed, the social implications of the design of the Royal Saltworks, differ little from Michele Foucault’s description of Bentham’s Panopticon in Surveiller et punir. Following Foucault, architecture became a stronger and more organised biopolitical apparatus from the late 18th century with new conceptions of public facilities, hygiene and public order that needed to question the dogma of classicist architecture to impose themselves on society. By dislodging architecture from its traditional values on society and aesthetics, architecture, according to Foucault, started to lose its authority as a symbol to become an apparatus of modernity par excellence.
Fort Boyard, France
1801–1866
Round City of Baghdad, Iraq
762–766
Saline Royale, Arc-et-Senans, France
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, 1775–1779
John Wood, the Younger, 1767–1774
The Hulme Crescent, Manchester, UK
Hugh Wilson and J.L. Womersley 1972 (demolished 1993)
Eketorp Fortress, Öland, Sweden
Jan Gezelius (reconstruction)
Hufeisensiedlung, Britz, Berlin, Germany
Bruno Taut, 1925–1930
Piazza dell’ Anfiteatro, Lucca, Italy 100 BC / 1830
Les Espaces d’Abraxas, Noisy-le-Grand, France. Ricardo Bofill, 1978
Royal Crescent & Circus, Bath, UK
Architecture is, whether consciously or not, also a political project. Ledoux was by no means a devoted promoter of social equality. During the Revolution he was incarcerated because of his alleged royal ties. Ledoux might have broken the chains of the baroque liberating architecture but did not liberate man. The break of the architectural chains promoted an architecture composed of autonomous parts and, by doing so, laid the foundation for modern architecture. It is precisely this autonomy of parts, in relation to the whole, that enables mass production and repetition. (MTR)
Image
Since its invention around 1850 photography has played a dominant role in works of restoration. Indeed, as argued by the restoration architect Viollet-le-Duc, photography cannot be too sedulously used when restoring a monument. He presented two related reasons for this; one was about the analytical use of photography: “Photography has naturally led architects to be still more scrupulous than before in their respect for the slightest vestiges of an ancient arrangement, and to take more accurate observations of the construction […]”. Viollet-le-Duc argues that photography trains the very ability for the eye to see and that the new mechanical means of representing the world—photography—far exceeded the ability of the human eye, “for very frequently a photograph discovers what had not been perceived in the building itself.” The other reason Viollet-le-Duc put forward for the use of photography in restoration is more intriguing. He argues that one crucial advantage of using photography is to offer visual access to knowledge that will be hidden once the restoration is carried out.
Kv. Masurkan (LD)
Kv. Valvet (TH)
Kv. Niten (SB)
Kv. Kardusen (IE)
Kv. Dörren (AA)
Kv. Ringdansen (KB)
Kv. Ringdansen (MD)
Kv. Dörren (JF)
Kv. Ringdansen (LG)
Kv. Valvet (IA)
Kv. Hambon (SK)
Kv. Masurkan (LL)
Kv. Hambon (SM)
Kv. Kardusen (YT)
Kv. Dörren (TW)
Kv. Porten (SW)
Moreover, when the work of restoration was completed, it was always possible to dispute the correctness of the graphical reports of what is called the existing state. But photography presents the advantage of supplying indisputable reports — documents which can be permanently consulted when the restorations mask the traces left by the ruin. Restoration becomes here an inverted form of archaeology in which the knowledge reached by the careful study of the fragmented building will be used not to lay bare, but to cover up the very object of research, the ruinous building. Yet, for Viollet Le Duc, photography itself offered the possibility of seeing behind the mask of restoration. Capturing the “existing state,” the photograph imbricates simultaneously both the past and the future of the monument; it preserves the very “proofs” which direct the reconstruction that ultimately will veil them. Crucially, then, photography for Viollet-le-Duc will function not just as a means to preserve the ruin but to justify the future of the monument — its reconstruction. (TA)
Kv. Dörren (AA)
Kv. Valvet (IA)
Kv. Kardusen (IE)
Kv. Niten (SB)
Kv. Ringdansen (KB)
Kv. Ringdansen (MD)
Kv. Masurkan (LD)
Kv. Valvet (TH)
Kv. Marsurkan (LL)
Kv. Kardusen (YT)
Kv. Dörren (TW)
Kv. Porten (SW)
Kv. Niten (SB)
Kv. Hambon (SK)
KV. MUREN
KV. VALVET
KV. SPÄRREN
KV. HASPEN
HAGEBY
KV. KARDUSEN
KV. PORTEN
KV. DÖRREN
KV. NITEN
KV. POLSKAN
KV. HAMBON
KV. TANGON
GULDRINGEN
NAVESTAD
LEARNING FROM NORRKÖPING
KV. RINGDANSEN
SILVERRINGEN
MASS HOUSING
Miljonprogrammet
In 1965 the Swedish government decided to build 1 million housing within 10 years to solve the massive housing shortage in Swedish cities. The aim was to build modern, high standard homes at affordable prices, mainly for the working class and middle class. The “miljonprogrammet” is often associated with big apartment buildings, but terrace houses and villas were also part of the program. Moreover, the project contained a high level of city planning for schools, shops, workplaces, churches, cinemas and other community buildings to make the “miljonprogram” a holistic solution. Some characteristics associated with the architecture of the buildings are the use of prefabrication as a building method and traffic separation.
There was also a strong wish to reduce the amount of human labour by replacing it with machines. Since the economic recession in the 1930s the building industry had been an important political question: the building of homes was both used to stimulate the economy of Sweden and to prevent unemployment. But during the “miljonprogram” one feared that there would be a lack of labour force because of the big amount of buildings to construct and that this would lead to unbearably high salaries of the workers. The traditional way to build was very work consuming and by rationalising the building process with machines and reducing the amount of human labour this problem could be solved. Hence, the government introduced several economic reforms to facilitate this and projects of big scale were encouraged.
Miljonprogrammet in Navestaden
In the 1960s Norrköping was an industrial town with a long history of textile manufacturing. But now in the 60´s also other industrial sectors were up and coming, for instance Ericssons factories for the production of phone elements. The industries had made Norrköping grow fast, there was a high labour immigration, the baby boom in 1945 had in the 60’s led to a lot of grownups looking for a place to live and a lot of homes suffered from overcrowding. Moreover, a wish for higher standards of living not least due to new consumption patterns and
economic growth had gained ground, in short terms: the need for new homes was urgent. To solve the problem, buildings according to the ideas of ”miljonprogrammet” were planned for the area Navestad: small atrium houses and two ringlike apartment blocks. The apartment blocks contained 1600 apartments and each block had one outer ring and one inner ring, with an asphalted area between them and a park area within the inner circle. Traffic separation was ensured by placing roads around the rings and parking possibilities next to the roads or in garages underneath the buildings and underneath the asphalt area between the buildings. The project of Navestad was mainly carried out by the municipality owned company Hyresbostäder Norrköping AB (HNAB), which had close connection to the Norrköping based cement factory Skånska Cement AB.
Social Development in Navestaden
The housing shortage in Norrköping was actually saturated already after the first ring was built. Still, one insisted on finishing both rings, may it be because of a wish to complete the project as a whole since only half of it would be regarded as a failure, may it be due to the wish to keep the building industry and its positive effects on Swedish economy ongoing. Here the close connection to the cement factory should be taken into account. But building both rings resulted in some problems. A lot of flats, up to 650, were standing empty and unused and this gave birth to an evil spiral where the area got a bad reputation and families of high socio economic background were moving out. The segregation problem was a fact and Navestad was put on the map as one of Norrköpings most exposed areas, a so-called “utsatt område”.
Kretsloppsmiljarden and the Local Investment Program LIP
Segregation problems in Sweden overall were some of the issues that the social democratic government led by Göran Persson in the 90’s wanted to solve. One out of many answers to this was an employment package introduced in 1995, together with the so called “Kretsloppsmiljarden”: 1 billion SEK were allocated for an adaption of Swedish society towards an ecological sustainability. This program made it possible for companies, businesses and municipal committees to apply for investment grants for measures to foster employment, environmental technology and environmental cycles. One important part in this program was the aim to adapt existing buildings, mainly those from the “miljonprogram”-era, to a cyclic sustainability. “Kretsloppsmiljarden” was later, in 1998, broadened by the “Lokala investeringsprogrammen” (local investment
Big enough for the Colosseum
A car free oasis
Space for playground, football field or ice scating ring
Maximized light conditions
Normal rents
Trees upon garage deck -”Norrköpings hanging gardens”
OUTCOME 1970s
“Norrköping threatens to get its own Harlem – a district where the social problems are piled up”.
“30 % of the habitants of the finished northern ring are social welfare recipients”
“The district was “left over” to the poor and immigrants.”
The rent committee in Navestad, DN 1972: “The maintenance of our apartments are beneath contempt”
“We protest against the 14% rental raise”
“The reason for 500 apartments standing empty are the wrong specultions of the municipal tycoons”
UTOPIAN VISION
“Shooting in Norrköping - big police operation”
“Riots during the eastern holiday were triggered by the rightwing extremist Rasmus Paludans plans to burn the Koran. In six Swedish cities, Linköping, Norrköping, ..., violent riots took place where over 300 police officers were injured. “
“Youths shot fireworks on people”
“Several to hospital after suspected arson”
UTOPIAN VISION
programs). The programs included now a total of 7.2 billion SEK. Remarkable was that it in this case it was the role of the government itself to approve the municipal applications whereas similar decisions of other programs normally were handled by other state instances, instances that had concrete knowledge corresponding to the program.
Kretsloppsmiljarden And LIP in Navestaden
In 1996, after the announcement of “Kretsloppsmiljarden”, HNAB decided for a renewal of the area with focusing on reducing the scale of the buildings, environmental adjustments and an aim to achieve a social development for the better with increased integration and engagement of the habitants. The total investment costs were 787 million SEK, where of 740 million where measures of environmental character. 260 million SEK of this was financed through the LIP (Local investment project). The renewal project endured from 1998 to 2003.
Social Situation of Navestaden after Renewal Swedish and international research shows that a spatial concentration of marginalised groups itself can have a negative effect on the life chances of the habitants, a phenomenon known as “grannskapseffekter” (neighbourhood effects). A lack of social capital such as social networking, a lack of positive role models for young people and stigmatising effects can lead to the bad reputation of the area “spilling over” to the habitants. Actions to improve the situation in exposed areas can on the one hand be of social character, for instance helping habitants find work or education and strengthening the feeling of a community
and engagement in the area. On the other hand, actions can be of a physical character. The intention of a change of the area’s physical character is mainly to attract resourceful households and in that way receive a mixture of households of different socioeconomic background leading to positive neighbourhood effects.
When comparing the socioeconomic situation of Navestaden before (1994) and after the renewal (2008) one can at first sight see a clear improvement: the general income has risen as well as the number of employees, whereas the number of people dependent on social contributions has sunk. But a further look shows that compared with the situation in Norrköping kommun overall, not much has changed. The only difference is that it’s not Navestaden alone that now is an exposed area, it has received company for instance by Hageby, the area just nearby. This can be explained with the renewal of Ringdansen increasing the rents and hence forcing new
families of low socioeconomic background to choose other places for their homes, like Hageby. Physical renewal of an exposed area as a method to “lift” the people in the area has therefore often faced the critique that it only leads to moving the segregation problem around, not solving it. Furthermore, people of lower socioeconomic background who might have to move out cannot benefit from the positive outcome of such a renewal.
With this in mind, it is interesting to have a look at a report from 1998 by Statens Offentliga Utredning (SOU), a state organisation responsible for investigations on society. It concludes that among other measures a well functioning housing policy is necessary for the improvement of segregated areas. Ironically the report states that physical renewal on buildings barely helps as a measure to prevent segregation, but still it advocates a renewal of the buildings as a method for generating positive effects on environment, economic growth and segregation. In other words, in the early stages of the renewal in 1998, one was actually aware that the program may not be the real solution for “lifting the people of Navestad.“
Median Economical Income Comparison Between Navestad-Norrköping (1969-1973)
Grindtorp-Täby (1961-1966) (Sek/Year For 2021)
Both of these areas were a part of miljonprogrammet with the same circus shape and a mass-scale. The media image between these two areas portrays them with completely different socioeconomic standards. There is a big difference in income, where the residents in Grindtorp earn twice as much. This may be due to the HSBmodellen and also the municipal decisions on where to locate people in need of social housing. The architecture, while not the same - still has the same qualities.
1996-2002 — The years of planning and realization of
2022/2023 — Our own estimated peak relating to the situation of “påskupploppen”, which reinforced Navestads bad reputation
Navestad is located on the southeastern edge of Norrköping, along the E22 road that leads towards Söderköping and Kalmar.The plan area of Navestad lies between the road and a parallel ridge in the Vrinnervis forest.
The design of Navestad draws inspiration from the natural surroundings, incorporating them into the layout. The main axis of the plan follows the direction of the road, forming the central line on which the rings are placed. These interconnected rings create a pedestrian and bicycle path that extends from the low-rise buildings in Navestad into the city.
A notable feature of the design is the intersection of the main axis with the north axis at an angle of approximately 60 degrees. This angular relationship, along with the two main directions, has influenced the overall layout of the area. The design employs simple principles such as mirroring, parallel movement, and rotation, creating a sense of order and discipline when viewed from a distance.
In terms of vehicle access, priority was given to convenient parking spaces near most of the apartments in the outer rings. The inner rings of the residential area were designed to minimize the presence of cars, allowing residents to easily reach their apartments through walkways and cycle paths.
While the monumental buildings may seem to contrast with the surrounding forest and countryside in terms of elevation, the two lush green parks located in the middle of the inner rings harmonize with the natural environment when viewed from above. Although the two inner gardens may appear similar in plan, they offer distinct spatial experiences due to different design approaches.
In the Silver Ring, a short building protrudes into the park along the axis, flanked symmetrically by two long six-story buildings. This arrangement creates a clear spatial direction towards the north, with the projecting building in the south standing out against a large open lawn, emphasizing the northward orientation. In contrast, the Golden Ring features a long eight-story building to the south, accompanied by two inset short six-story buildings. This creates a more irregular and less pronounced
spatial direction within the park, with more vegetation contributing to its distinct character. The intentional contrast in spatial conditions between the two parks informs their design and use. The Silver Ring’s clear directionality and open lawn provide opportunities for various activities and gatherings, while the Golden Ring, with its less defined spatial direction and greater vegetation, creates a more diverse and organic environment.
Despite the apparent strictness of the plan, there is a deliberate avoidance of spatial repetition within the area. Each location within Navestad has its own unique spatial characteristics, contributing to a sense of diversity and variety. The interplay between the two main axes and the arrangement of the rings create different sequences of movement, both into and out of the area, as well as within it.
MASS PRODUCTION
Preface
Fifty years ago, Norrköping faced a severe housing crisis marked by poor conditions and shortages. In response, the Hyresbostäder Foundation, a non-profit housing company, was established on June 13, 1946. Beyond providing housing, it pioneered improvements in apartment quality and design, empowering tenants to shape their living spaces actively. Notably, the Navestad project, including the Gold and Silver Rings, exemplified rapid construction and urban development during the Million Program decade, addressing the city’s housing challenges.
The Allbetong Method
The mass-housing program (“Miljon programmet”) was based on the strong cooperation between the Hyresbostäder Foundation and the local construction companies, in particular the Skanska Cementgjuteriet.1 Anebäck, Hyresbostäder’s new director, pushed forward the realization of Hyresbostäder’s and Skanska Cement’s joint prefabricated factory in Norrköping, which met the rising construction costs and the demand for rapid housing production.2
Skanska Cement Company manufactured pre-made building components for large projects like apartment buildings. The use of the Allbetong method significantly reduced construction time and labor, playing a key role in Skanska’s global expansion.3 In some cases, entire systems for complete houses were developed, while in most cases, they focused on special products like floor slabs, roof cassettes, façade elements, balconies, and stairs.4
Looking at the catalogue of concrete products and element factories ‘Betongvaruinindustrin’1 we see that Skanska Cementgjuteriet, AB in Norrköping was the biggest concrete factory with prefabricated elements.5 So we can assume that Skanska produced most of Navestad’s prefabricated elements, it is Norrköping’s own element factory.6
Norrköpingsmetoden
Eric Ahlin, the architect who was responsible for Navestad, developed together with the construction companies a more specific pre-fabrication method known as the “Norrköpingsmetoden”, originating from the Allbetong method.7 This element panel system
consists of a predefined catalogue of prefabricated elements. Room-sized outer walls, slabs, and stairs serve as the loadbearing structure whilst parallel aligned interior walls separate the spaces into rooms (see Figure 1). Openings such as windows and doors were also standardized and pre-fitted in the factory. The outer walls consisted of sandwich elements that had a concrete layer on the inside and the outside and an insulation layer in the middle (see Figure 5). The outer walls were pre-casted with the façade side facing downwards, so the inner side of the walls required further finishing. The apartment separation walls were built in concrete only and the installation shafts were pre-casted. Both, the pre-fabrication and the prefitting allowed to speed up the production process and rationalize costs.8 In order to achieve the concentric shape of the buildings, the slab panels were partly tilted. This allowed to simplify the prefabrication and maintain a rectangular shape of the façade panels.
Construction Process
The construction was carried out simultaneously from two sides of the building. With the help of mobiles cranes, the prefabricated loadbearing elements are lifted and joined at the construction site floor by floor. Whilst the frame is raised, the cranes are also used to lift the inner walls and containers with material for the internal completion to the respective level. This process allowed to erect 5 flats in 2 days (up to 250 tons per day). A housing block with 24 flats could thus be completed in 10 days.9
Joints/Details
The joints between the loadbearing elements (apartment walls, façade walls, and slab) were based on a stacking principle similar to a puzzle.
For the joints between the façade and slab, the upper and lower sides of the outer wall and the slab were on the one hand designed so they would lock when they were stacked into each other. On the other hand, the tilted design of the borders in combination with elastic joints ensured the acoustic insulation between the apartments. As the outer walls consisted of 2 concrete layers that sandwiched an insulation layer, the design of the joints also allowed the insulation to breathe. A similar principle applies to the joint between apartment walls and slabs
Prefabrication Catalogue
Outer Walls
Inner Walls
Slabs
Navestad Prefabrication Catalogue
| HdM, CCY, SE, MJ, AM, SM
(see Figure 5). known as the “Norrköpingsmetoden”, originating from the Allbetong method.10
This element panel system consists of a predefined catalogue of prefabricated elements. Room-sized outer walls, slabs,
Critical Review of the Construction Method
Whilst the design of the prefabricated walls and slabs as well as the joints were claimed to allow for an efficient building process, one could argue that the circular design of the building block made it difficult to further apply it to other projects. As Norrköping Cementgjurtet filed bankruptcy in 1972, the Norköpingmetod was applied in Navestad for the last time. Moreover, the load-bearing system appears relatively rigid/inflexible and difficult to adjust when it comes to re-sizing the apartments or rooms. Due to building physics aspects (avoidance of heat and acoustic bridges) and the gap between the connecting panels, the joints should not be filled with cement or similar material when rendered. Also, the pre-casting of the installation makes it difficult to change the layout. These could be reasons why there were only changes to the outside in Ringdansen.
Material Surfaces
The surface of the original façade was exposed aggregate concrete. However, whilst the balconies were also constructed from concrete, they exhibited a surface treatment that appeared different from the rest of the façade, although no specific information was available regarding this treatment.11 Students from the KTH School of Architecture conducted an investigation focused on the Million Program Concrete project in Norrköping. The investigation shows the attempt of the students to recreate a surface with exposed aggregate. They found out that etching the surface with an acid created an expression that came close to the exposed aggregate surface built in Navestad.
Another characteristic of Navestad is the color palette used. Unfortunately, we could not find any further information on this or the fabrication process.
Renovation of Ringdansen
Around the turn of the millennium in 2000, the Million Homes Program area known as Ringdansen underwent a major renovation. A significant portion of the existing housing stock was demolished. The remaining housing was renovated with what was described as an ecological focus.12 The walls that were removed were recycled and used for other purposes; like the barn from the farmer Magnus Gustafson13, partly in the new constructions for
Figure 4: Construction Process Navestad, based on Erik Ahlin’s drawing “Miljon programmet”
A housing block with 24 flats | HdM, CCY, SE, MJ, AM, SM
the school and for a two student residences in Linköping. The reuse within the area was clearly profitable, but in the latter case, transport etc. the measure expensive in relation to the gains. Other concrete that was demolished, about 48,000 tons, was crushed and recycled as filling material.14
Finally, the construction method faced challenges in terms of adaptability and flexibility. The renovation of Ringdansen, while claiming an ecological focus, raised questions about the true ecological impact of some interventions, which appeared more cosmetic in nature.
During the renovation, the insulation of the façade was improved. Mineral wool was added to the façade and then covered with chicken wire before being rendered. This was a typical way of adding 10-15cm of insulation (we don’t have exact details about the thickness). The tilted balconies -were adjusted to form a right angle and the characteristic ornamented concrete balcony railings were exchanged for a lightweight grey-colored steelglass construction. Moreover, the exposed aggregate concrete on the façade was covered. The preservation of distinct design elements, such as the exposed joints, suggests a deliberate design choice in the renovation process.15
1) Hyresbostäder i Norrköping. Hyresbostäder 1946-1996 : /Till allmän nytta, 50 år, 1996.
2) Pe-ark.com. “Arkitekt eric ahlin.” Last modified november 6, 2023. http://pe-ark.com/navestad1998/situation/ahlin.htm.
3) Fundinguniverse.com. “Skanska AB History.” Last modified november 6, 2023. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/companyhistories/skanska-ab-history/.
4) Brenner, M.B.; Wickbom, U.; Skånska cementgjuteriet. SKÅNSKA CEMENTGJUTERIET - SKANSKA. 1937-1987 : utgiven av Skanska AB inför 100-årsjubileet 1987.
7) Pe-ark.com. “Arkitekt eric ahlin.” Last modified november 6, 2023. http://pe-ark.com/navestad1998/situation/ahlin.htm.
8) KTH Seminar Mid Term Report, course: Million Program Panels, Erik Stenberg.
9) Erik Stenberg. “Navestad – Silverringen & Guldringen” in Structural Systems of the Million Program Era, 67-69.” KTH School of Architecture, 2013. Issuu.com. https://issuu.com/ kth-arkitekturskolan/docs/structuralsystems/69.
10) Georg Wästlund. Betongelement för bostadshus, Rapport fran Byggforskningen, Stockholm, 17:1965; The precast concrete and lightweight concrete element industry in Sweden, IABSE reports of the working commissions.
11) KTH Seminar Mid Term Report, course: Million Program Panels, Erik Stenberg.
12) Åsa Bråmå, “Går det att vända utvecklingen i utsatta bostadsområden? Exemplet Navestad/Ringdansen i Norrköping.” Centrum för kommunstrategiska studier, 2011.
13) Karin Nordenö, “Väggarna atervinns, aterfinns i ladugard.”
14) Sonja Vidén; Marina Botta. “Bostadsförnyelse och miljöåtgärder med stöd av lokala investeringsprogram.” KTH Arkitektur, BOOM- Gruppen.
15) Pär Eliaeson; Nilsson Samuelsson. Site visite.
MASS ORNAMENT
Einar Höste,1930 - 2013, son to chessmaster Per Albert Eriksson, was a Swedish artist who studied sculpture at Konstfack in Stockholm.
Einar Höste is renowned for his abstract sculptures that shape space using materials such as concrete, metal, and plastic. His work blurs the lines between concretism and minimalism, often creating a dynamic interplay between the sphere and the cube. One of his notable sculpture series features cubes with incorporated spherical voids. In the pivotal artwork "Closed space," showcased at the 1965 exhibition "The inner and outer space" at the Moderna Museet, viewers had the opportunity to step into a space undergoing a transformation from a spherical form to a cubic one.
In the autumn of 1967, The competition ‘General competition for the organization and decoration of the three squares in Navestad’ was announced. During the autumn of 1967, a competition was announced titled "General competition for the organization and embellishment of three squares in Navestad." This competition focused on three squares created by integrating some of the inner circle's building structures into the "Guldringen," the first of the two double rings. Einar received the first prize for his proposal, the "continuous bowl shape." The jury's rationale included the following: "This proposal encompasses the entire competition area... It serves well in both the squares and other areas... This proposal is ambitiously conceived and adheres to the fundamental architectural concept of Navestad…” Arne Jones, 19141976, was a Swedish artist and sculptor who was one of the best known in Sweden in the mid-20th century. He has made numerous sculptures in public places around Sweden. Famous public works around Sweden include 'Spiral Reflex' in Sundsvall and 'Ställbart Universum' in Gothenburg. While Autumn's style is characterized by a consistent fascination with geometry and large interconnected parts, sometimes even geometrically, Jones' sculptural works could often be more organic and irregular. He has been awarded the prestigious Sergel Prize. He created a few public artworks for Norrköping and the work outside the Norrköping Art Museum from 1961 became a signature of the place. He then played an important role in the jury that judged the various proposals received for the competition that was to select the decoration of sites in the future Navestad. Einar Höste won with his proposals for monumental sculptural works that
together created an unique site. Jones worked with Eric Ahlin for Hyresbostäder in Norrköping in the late 1960s on various types of studies for the plan for what became Navestad. Among other things, Arne Jones created several model studies of the volumes, movement and light around how Navestad would be designed. Jones also created certain ornaments and design elements in the architecture of the facades in Navestad. Examples include the semi-circular holes in the concrete elements that made up the original balcony railings that adorned every balcony in the entire area. Navestad's strongly integrated public art contributes to the area being a unique example of urban development from the 1960s. Since its construction, the area and the art have attracted art and architecture enthusiasts.
Eric Ahlin the architect
Eric Ahlin, 1915 - 1918, was a Swedish architect active mainly between the 1940s and 1970s. He was educated at KTH, among others. Although he was originally from Stenstorp in Östergötland, many of his main architectural projects were built in Norrköping. Examples of some of his most famous projects include the housing project Såpkullen in Norrköping from 1947, Mörby Centrum in Danderyd and of course Navestad's million program project from around 1969. He and his former firms also designed several residential properties in Stockholm municipality, including Geten 25 from 1969 in Vasastan in Stockholm, as well as several properties in Bagarmossen and Vällingby in Stockholm municipality and others. These properties are mainly from the 1950s and 1960s. Såpkullen and Geten 25 are both apartment buildings where the first is several larger point houses and the latter is a larger block house. Both have about 8 floors. He designed several of these properties together with Bertil Ringqvist. His style in the 40s and 50s should be regarded as Swedish Modern with clear material choices and sparse exterior design with careful details around e.g. doors and balconies. Later, his style follows the typical ideals of the time and becomes more brutalist with prefabricated elements and the aesthetics that come with it. This can be seen in Navestad's Gold and Silver Ring, which should also be considered Eric Alin's largest and most important work. Eric Ahlin's Navestad is one of the best examples and a symbol of the industrial housing construction that developed during the Million Program. Navestad's method with standardized andindustrial prefabricated elements came to be known as
the Norrköping method. Navestad was both praised and questioned. During the 1940s, Eric Ahlin was employed at Hyresbostäder, Norrköping's municipal housing company. He then worked for HSB and Riksbyggen, among others. Municipal housing companies in Norrköping were particularly active when, in the 1940s, it was judged that Norrköping had some of the lowest housing standards in Sweden. A lot was demolished and a lot of new buildings were constructed in Norrköping during the post-war period and Ahlin's influence was therefore significant. Ahlin later had his own architectural offices, but at the beginning of his career he was employed by Bostadsstyrelsen.
Analysis
Arne Jones and Eric Ahlin worked together on the volume studies of both movement and sunlight. Not only is Einar Höste's art highly geometric, the design of the housing project is also created according to clear mathematical and geometric proportions. For example, the original plan of the Gold and Silver Ring is such that the outer facade is 3 times the diameter of each ring. Since the circumference of a circle is 3.14, i.e. pi times the diameter, the openings in the rings are only 0.14 times the diameter. The diameter is about 270 meters on each ring and the original entrances between the buildings were therefore about 38 meters per ring. This was something that changed with the major renovation in the late 90s where buildings were demolished. A total of 600 out of 1800 apartments disappeared. Also the size of the buildings is related to the diameter, they are usually half a diameter or a third of a diameter. The volume studies and movement surveys carried out by Jones and Ahlin must have paid off. Navestad with its park areas is a place where many young people live. The proportion of the population in Navestad between 0-15 is almost 30% in 2020. The population is relatively evenly distributed across age groups but with a large number of young people. In 2021, a total of about 4800 people lived in Navestad. Navestad has received both praise and criticism over the years. Many of the problems that have arisen in certain million-dollar programs around Sweden have also existed in Navestad, which contributed to the major redevelopment project of the area in the late 1990s. Even today, the police classify the area as a vulnerable area. The famous architectural historian Fredric Bedoire wrote in "The History of Swedish Architecture" that one reason for Navestad's failure, among others, was its location relatively far from Norrköping's city center and quite isolated. This isolation is only partially offset by the fact that each apartment will have access to one parking space each. In 2011, the tram was also brought to Navestad. Another aspect that was blamed for the area's problems,
and which came to change completely, was the relatively monotonous facades and appearance of the buildings. The buildings had ornaments, albeit sparingly. The most prominent details are the crescent-shaped decorations of the balcony railings and the wide light reliefs that vertically created the feeling of huge pilasters. These ornaments disappeared in the 1990s renovation in an effort to reduce the vulnerability of the area. Ornaments that remain are the flat, hexagonal pillars that create an arcade under most of the buildings in the outer rings. Several walls with large circular holes, which also create the arcade, also remain.
The continuous bowl shape is composed of 57 elements evenly distributed along the pedestrian path between the circular structures, with a particular concentration in two of the three squares. Each element consists of a sandblasted, gently concave rhomboid aluminum plate supported by an aluminum square column of varying heights, ranging from 3 to 13 meters. These 57 sculptures have been strategically placed to collectively form fragments of an enormous bowl, with its center situated in the heart of the area. Regardless of your location in the vicinity, you have visual contact with at least one of the bowl fragments, serving as landmarks while also evoking the grandeur of the colossal sculpture. The client, Hyresbostäder, was so satisfied with Höste's work that they commissioned him to create sculptures in the "Silverringen" as well. In the Silverringen, there are 44 sculpture elements, in contrast to the 57 in Guldringen. Each element consists of aluminum tubes outlining the contours of a concave rhomboid shape. These aluminum contours create arches that flow between the building structures, resembling undulating waves or the prows of boats, and incorporate the distinct moon crescent ornamentation found in the balcony railings on the facades designed by Arne Jones.
The elements in the continuous bowl shape are centrally coordinated. Höste described it as if he had placed a compass in the center of Guldringen, and the radii in a few imagined concentric circles determined the placement of sculpture fragments. In Varied Bowl Shape, on the other hand, he connects the parts within a grid strictly oriented in a north-south direction. This grid was made visible on the ground by carving grooves into the black asphalt and filling them with red asphalt mass. One could say that this coordinate-like grid's principle constitutes a meticulous distribution of the longitudes and latitudes commonly applied to our planet, allowing us to specify the precise location of a place or object anywhere on Earth." In addition to the x and y coordinates that determine the sculpture's position on the ground, Höste also provides
Arkades section and plan
Pilaster elevation and plan
Balconies elevation, section and plan
a y-coordinate to describe the height and, thus, the volume of the sculptures. This is achieved through the four aluminum tubes that support the arches. The aluminum tubes are of the same width as the grid lines, and you can read the y-coordinate by aligning the tubes vertically with the ground's coordinate system. Their varying heights above the arches suggest that they can continue indefinitely upward or downward, much like the grid on the ground can be imagined to expand infinitely.
Ornaments
Navestad architecture project in the 1970s rooted in the pragmatic realities of a limited budget, embodies a minimalist approach to ornamentation, characterized by simplicity and frugality. The foundational principle of prefabrication extends not only to the structural elements but also to the ornamental aspects. Throughout the entire structure, motifs such as pilasters, balconies, and columns are repeated, creating a sense of unity and coherence. Concrete serves as both the construction and finishing material, with varied color and grain sizes producing distinct visual effects. This versatile use of concrete introduces surface differentiation, notably observed in pilasters that seemingly differ from the wall elements, adding depth and dimension to the façade. The facades have flat surfaces, with visible connection lines of prefabricated elements. The architectural ethos of the 1970s project reflects a departure from traditional methods and ornaments, embracing early postmodernist influences. Circular openings punctuate the walls, while hexagonal columns grace the ground floor. Balconies feature cutouts forming parts of a circle, showcasing a departure from conventional rectangular forms. Geometric motifs permeate every scale of the project, from the overarching urban plan structured around circles to small details like cut corners in the buildings. The integration of playful geometry serves as a deliberate strategy to disrupt the monotony of facades. A notable example is the trapezoidal plan of balconies, introducing an element that breaks the plane. The Navestad architecture project thus stands as a testament to the innovative fusion of modernist pragmatism with postmodernist aesthetics, creating a distinctive ornamentation identity.
Pilasters
Facade elements as white pilasters adorned with flutes, crafted from concrete with a different grain that sets them apart from the wall elements. Influenced by classicism, these pilasters are strategically placed in a uniform and symmetrical rhythm, maintaining a consistent form throughout the entire premise. While manifesting neoclassical influences, these elements contribute to the project’s aesthetic equilibrium and historical resonance without merely replicating “old” aesthetics. Prefabricated and seamlessly integrated into the walls before the assembly process.
Balconies
Prefabricated concrete elements, present throughout the entire project They are characterized by their trapezoidal shape in plan, thoughtfully angled in relation to the facade. The railings, supported by a floor plate with two heels, are elegantly fastened to the facade through simple yet effective mechanisms. These balconies feature intricate geometric motifs within the cutouts of the walls, incorporating circles and arches for added visual interest.
Arcades
The ground floor features welcoming arcades, extending the communal space. These arcades, following the building’s rounded shape, avoid a corridor-like feel. In contrast to the cold exterior, warm materials are employed: a wooden suspended ceiling, red brick walls, and black lacquered wooden panels. Hexagonal columns in smooth concrete add both structural support and visual appeal, tying into the project’s geometric theme.
