STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN Architecture Projects: Skeppsbron

Speculation is crucial in architectural practice and a central role of the architect is to think differently. Architecture Projects: Skeppsbron highlights the artistic methods and visionary ideas of eight Stockholm-based architects and studios to propose new possibilities for Skeppsbron — a large waterfront site at the heart of the Swedish capital that stretches across Gamla Stan (the old town) from Slussen to the Royal Palace.
As Stockholm’s oldest quay, Skeppsbron and Skeppsbrokajen have a unique history as the “shop window” of Sweden: a hub for the import and export of goods, a marketplace, a thoroughfare, and a metaphorical bridge between the capital and the rest of Europe. Between people, ideas and commerce, this was once Stockholm’s foremost site of exchange. Although it still stands as a defining image of the city, it has come to be dominated by car parks and underused public space.
Through drawings, models, words and references, these eight visions — rendered by way of large-scale drawings and models — consider possible futures for Skeppsbron as an architectural, symbolic, and public landscape. They celebrate the architect’s ability to address the city as a layered, multifaceted environment capable of absorbing unexpected proposals and, when read together, can help us to see the potential of the city in a new light.