The plot allocated for the construction of an ice hockey club with an area of 4600 square meters, which will include a training area, an ice rink, a cafe and changing rooms, has a complex relief and resembles a giant bowl in shape. The concept proposed by BIG was recognized as the best precisely due to the optimal use of the existing height difference: the architects did not just fit the sports complex into the fold of the relief, but masterfully developed this theme in the interior.
The architects conditionally divided the existing earthen "bowl" into two equal parts and placed the hockey club in its southern "half", turning the northern one into a landscape park with picturesque paths, terraces and stairs. The skating rink itself is located at the lower level of the building, that is, at the bottom of the "bowl", and the battles with the puck can be watched not only from the surrounding stands, but also directly from the park, to which it is facing with a fully glazed facade. By the way, according to the architects' plan, in summer the transparent screen can be folded, and the skating rink space can be used for concerts and performances. And the roof of this part of the building is landscaped, due to which a gentle bridge is actually thrown across the former ravine, along which you can quickly go to the other side, without first going down, and then climbing a long staircase.
The Stockholmsporten (Gateway to Stockholm) project is a master plan for the development of the area adjacent to a new road junction, construction of which will begin shortly in Stockholm's Hjulsta district. A three-level junction of a complex configuration will unite the country's two main highways - E4 and E18 - but it threatens to divide the area itself into four parts isolated from each other. Swedish city planners calculated in advance this negative consequence of the construction of a large-scale intersection and prudently held a competition for the best concept to combat the impending separation. In addition to the Danish bureau BIG, Snøhetta (Norway), Erik Giudice Architects (Sweden) and Danish landscape designer Christine Jensen were invited to participate in it.
BIG's project was called the "Valley of Energy", and their proposal for the reorganization of the territory adjacent to the future junction (which is 580 thousand square meters!) Is indeed a picturesque green valley, braided by bicycle and pedestrian paths. The architects seem to enclose a multi-level intersection with a green circle, which is then divided into several segments and filled with different functions. This is a landscape park, shopping and sports complexes, and even a hammam with a mosque. Along the diameter of the "green circle", the architects propose to hide in tunnels all four sections of the road, suitable for the intersection, and lay pedestrian and bicycle routes on top. The main landmark of the entire territory promises to be a giant sphere suspended just above the intersection. Its lower surface will be mirrored, and the upper one will be lined with solar panels, thanks to which this ball will be able to perform two functions at once - it will provide new construction projects and nearby residential buildings with electricity and will serve as a convenient reference point for drivers who can see the entire “sweep” of a complex intersection in it.
A. M.
