The area stretches along a series of locks connecting Lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. There is the largest transport hub in Stockholm with a huge road junction, metro interchange stations and railways. In its current state, it is very inconvenient for walking or cycling and disrupts the continuous line of the walking route running from north to south through the historic city center.
According to the architect, the current situation in this area is “a deviation from the norm”, therefore it is necessary to update Slussen and make it a popular holiday destination.
Foster proposes making the path through the area more convenient with a new footbridge and wooden “decks” along the embankments and in the middle of the canal, serving as both a public space and a dock. It is also planned to reconstruct the historic gateway, which should become a symbol of the area's renewal.
The new buildings in Slussen will correspond to the scale and “texture” of the surrounding neighborhoods: cultural and entertainment institutions, shops, cafes and hotels will be located there, interspersed with new squares and terraces and united by a wide “promenade”. The historic Katarinahissen elevator (1935) located there, connecting the embankment level with the Mosebakken hill, will be reconstructed and equipped with a convenient observation deck.
Nearby, in front of the City Museum, it is planned to build a transparent ground pavilion with kiosks and cafes, from where it will be possible to go down to the metro interchange station, bus station and a shopping center with natural light.
In addition to Foster, BIG and Nyréns Architects, architects Gert Wingårdh and Jean Nouvel took part in the competition for the reconstruction of Slussen.
