Turning Torso: the anchor of Vastra Hamnen

you can't spend several weeks in Malmo and not take pictures of the Turning Torso.  in fact, many would argue you can't spend several hours in Malmo and not take pictures of it.  you may even recall that I took a picture of it the first night I arrived in Malmo.  once the tallest apartment building in Europe, the Turning Torso twists upward 54 stories and 623 feet, the top floor at a 90 degree angle from the ground floor.  the Torso was envisioned by the government of Malmo as a new beginning, a fresh start, and a much needed strengthening of the skyline to the north of the city center.  it rises 2 times higher than Kronprinsen, the previous tallest building in Malmo.

the Turning Torso approached from the southern main access road to Vastra Hamnen from the city center.  the Torso, designed by Santiago Calatrava, rises 623 feet and 54 stories.

the Kockums crane (Kockumskranen) which was sold to a Korean company in the early 2000's was the last and highest symbol of the working class city of Malmo's shipbuilding industry.  it's last duty was to assist in the building of the Oresund Bridge, the lifeline connection between Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmo, Sweden.

looking up at the Torso from the street

in the years leading up to the decision to construct the Turning Torso, there were three major focused objectives of the city of Malmo, partly in an effort to move forward after the financial collapse caused by the shipbuilding industry abandoning the city (among other financial challenges), partly to jump into the 21st century, and partly to recreate and rebrand the city and its identity.  the three objectives were, at first blush, quite simple:

1. improve education and heighten the focus of the city on advanced education
2. strengthen connectivity and interconnectedness of Malmo within the region of Skane and beyond
3. use sustainability and sustainable initiatives as a method to advance the city and its planning

these three objectives were simultaneously addressed starting in the 1990's and moving into the first decade of the 21st century.  though the Turning Torso was not, in itself, a cornerstone of any of these three specific objectives, it played a significant role as a new symbol of Malmo, the city of the future.  the Torso is an excellent example of how cities use architecture (tall, unique, or important buildings, often designed by famous architects) to promote an agenda and "put themselves on the map" as Malmo has been doing for the last 15-20 years.

Turning Torso in Vastra Hamnen, Malmo as seen from the neighborhood

the three most obvious physical manifestations of the three objectives are quite powerful, and together have helped shaped Malmo as a growing, changing city with an eye toward the future.

1.  one of the brightest examples of the city of Malmo putting a new focus on higher education was the creation of Malmo's first University, Malmo Hogskola.  the University, now a central hub of the Dockans neighborhood adjacent to the central train station and Vastra Hamnen, has grown to more than 24,000 students in just over ten years of operation (the school opened officially in 1998).  the school has many disciplines and areas of study, including several in sustainability such as master's degrees in "Leadership for Sustainability" and "Sustainable Urban Management".

the style has been called "structural expressionism" and is most evident in the exposed structural elements on the building exterior 

2.  the most obvious physical manifestation of the idea of interconnection in Skane and beyond is the Oresund Bridge and the improvements in the train transportation into Malmo.  the Oresund Bridge, completed and opened in July 2000, has created amazing opportunities for growth in Malmo as well as the opportunity for people living in Malmo to commute easily to Copenhagen.  besides the construction of the bridge itself, Malmo created new and improved train stations and rail lines from the bridge through the city center (called the City Tunnel Project) that simplify, enhance, and speed up travel to and from Malmo as well as through it up the western coast of Sweden and beyond.

the Turning Torso sits in a pool of water at the base (the parking complex in the background contains a sustainable grocery store and restaurant on the ground floor)

3.  in terms of sustainability, the list, as you may have seen from earlier entries in this blog, is endless.  I would argue that the most notable catalyst for the physical manifestation of making sustainability part of the city's future is Bo01, brought about as part of the European Housing Exposition in 2011, and evidenced in the European Village as well as the surrounding neighborhood and corresponding infrastructure.  this neighborhood, anchored on one corner by the tallest building in Scandinavia, is a beacon of hope for the future of sustainable cities and neighborhoods.

the Turning Torso as seen from the neighborhood school.  the top is 90 degrees twisted from the base.

Hyllie neighborhood: traveling further abroad

today I had the opportunity to ride around the city for awhile in between sending emails, making contacts, and setting up meetings.  I made it a mission to get to at least a couple of neighborhoods that I hadn't seen yet.  I decided to ride southwest along the coast to check out a couple of places and neighborhoods along the way.

leaving Vastra Hamnen behind along the coast along the Ribersborg "beach"

the first official stop was Linhamn.  Limhamn is a sleepy outskirt of Malmo about halfway between the city center and the Oresund Bridge.  it saw some growth about 50 years ago with some new apartments but sat quietly for some time after.  recently there have been some upgrades including several new apartment buildings.  one piece of Limhamn sticks out into the ocean as an island and it was there that I found some neat places such as this constructed water inlet amphitheater.

water "amphitheater" on the Or of Limhamn

for a little fishing village so close to Malmo city center, it was surprising how empty the place felt, but it was a weekday during business hours.  I saw an older man being pushed in a wheelchair and said hej.  he said hej hej.  I saw some older european village style houses and ran into a woman with a stroller picking wild blackberries.  besides the houses, I also liked this gabion wall set in front of the one cafe on the island.

gabion wall on the Or of Limhamn with cafe and new apartment building in the background

after Limhamn I went through Bellevue on my way toward Hyllie, one of the neighborhoods of Malmo that has seen immense change in the last ten years.  Bellevue is basically like a suburb.  single family houses with winding side streets and main boulevards connecting major areas.  one point of interest to me has been the schools here.  in this case I stopped to snap a quick picture because I was impressed at how many kids bike to school.  I have noticed in the morning and in the afternoon a lot of parents ride with their kids to school and then continue on to work or elsewhere.  even little kids.

elementary school in Bellevue with plenty of bike parking for the kids

after Bellevue I headed toward Hyllie.  on the way I had to stop and take a picture of this poured in place concrete bridge.  for some reason this kind of construction always makes me happy.  this specific bridge creates an underpass for the bike path to continue south from Bellevue to Hyllie.

underpass for the bike path made of cast in place concrete

after the underpass I made quick progress to the heart of the new center of Hyllie.  Hyllie is southwest of the city center and was once mostly farmland but has recently gained prominence as a development area for Malmo due to the newly constructed Hyllie station (built as part of the major Malmo City Tunnel project), which is just two stops from Copenhagen and two from Malmo center.

before the Oresund Bridge was constructed linking Sweden to Denmark (Malmo to Copenhagen) one needed to take a ferry for the 6 mile crossing.  In 1999 the bridge was completed linking the two countries and creating opportunity for growth in Malmo and job access across the Oresund Strait, which serves as both the physical border between the two countries and a psychological divide due to the time and effort it took to get from one side to the other.  now a commute from Malmo to Copenhagen is a mere 25 minutes and about $15.

view from Vastra Hamnen toward Oresund Bridge

Hyllie's new station has made the pasture into a soon to be bustling city connecting point.  in fact, the largest mall in Scandanavia is about to open within 100 meters of the station.  besides the mall, there are office buildings and several restaurants, a new museum of Malmo, and the Malmo Arena, which must be important because Lady Gaga played there last year.  my major interest in Hyllie is the new residential complexes that are just breaking ground.  they are going to be in the same ballpark of sustainable excellence as Augustenborg and Vastra Hamnen in terms of energy use reduction, sustainable strategies, water conservation, land use, waste management, and energy efficiency.  there's nothing really to see yet except architectural renderings.

I talk to a local construction worker about the happenings in Malmo and Hyllie and then set off back north on a fantastic bike path toward the city center.  when I pass the soccer stadium (where Malmo FF plays) I stop dead in my tracks.  the bike parking at the stadium is like nothing I've ever seen.  I count 2000 bike parking spaces just on my side of the stadium along the bike path.  I repeat.  2000 bike parking spaces at an international soccer stadium.

Malmo stadium

stadium bike parking.  2000 spots on one side of the stadium alone

I leave the stadium and continue north, stopping at the city bibliotek to get a library card.  the library is awesome, a new giant glass box juxtaposed against an historic brick building.  the most intriguing thing to me about the space inside is that the first thing you see when you enter is stairs.  no sign of an elevator anywhere.  oh, you want to go to the second level, there are the stairs.  nuff said.

entry to the Malmo city library 

main stacks of the library from the second floor 

the other notable about the library is the help/ info desk (right when you enter the building).  they give out tickets like Americans get at the deli counter.  now serving... 

main entry to library serves as a helpdesk, information center, and meeting place.  cafe in background.

oh.  did I mention the bicycle routes that are mainly closed to through traffic of cars?  and what about the street signs that aim bike travelers from one area of the city to the next?  and of course, the bicycle roundabout...

street is open for cars to park but through traffic is for bikes only.  a couple of simple bollards deter cars.

the bicycle roundabout.  a fan favorite.  note the signs directing to different neighborhoods and landmarks in the city.