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.

rush hour in Malmo

rush hour in Malmo is like rush hour anywhere else; many people have completed a hard days work and are excited to get home to see their families, loved ones, eat a nice meal, maybe even sit like a vegetable in front of the television watching the evening news or another in the endless stream of reality tv shows.

Malmo, like most other cities, has a city center, other popular destinations for business and social life, and shops, restaurants, and bars downtown.  there are tourist attractions (although the town itself is not specifically touristy) such as city squares, churches, a cathedral, old buildings, a giant park, a beautiful library, and much more.  the city bustles with activity in these downtown areas throughout the day, and in certain areas, throughout the evening.

like most cities, these central and downtown areas are higher rent and typically geared toward wealthier people or visitors.  a vast majority of the people who work or spend time in the heart of the city live somewhere else, somewhere further afield in the city or even in the suburbs.  Boston, with approximately 600,000 people in the city proper, receives about 300,000 commuters each day.  Malmo is much the same.  about 60,000 people commute into the city of 300,000 people and another 30,000 commute out (most commonly to Copenhagen over the Oresund Bridge via train).  as one would expect, the commuters take typical means to get into and out of the city, including buses, cars, and trains.

there is no metro in Malmo as there is in a larger city such as Boston or Copenhagen, but what Malmo does have moreso than either of those much larger cities is bike lanes.  the dedicated bike lanes are everywhere throughout the city center and into the suburbs.  I have never (even in Copenhagen) seen so many well constructed, thoughtful, easily navigable, dedicated bikes lanes.  so the other night around 17.30 I stopped at an intersection to the south of the city center and filmed a couple of minutes of rush hour.

the traffic signals seemed to be on about a 1:15 cycle alternating between perpendicular (the minor street) and parallel (the major street).  I stood on a corner in front of a subway (restaurant) and filmed for one light cycle at a time.  these videos represent what I would call a typical, fair weather, rush hour, light cycle at a populated/ popular intersection.

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.

malmö train station: a trifecta of goodness (& free wifi)!

woke up on norwegian air flight somewhere over the alps.  first thing I saw out the window of the plane was a wind farm with at least 20 turbines just sitting in a wheat field.  within about 10 minutes I must have seen over a thousand turbines, mostly in fields that looked to be farmland.  it looks like these people know something.  

40 wind turbines in Danish farmland.  It seems even during a bad year with the crops the wind still blows.

paid 25 danish kroner for a 33cl coke.  free internet on a plane.  norwegian is the first company in europe to do it.  tried to log onto the internet with limited success.  downloaded pictures off the camera.  emailed anne but couldn’t email tamara because the connection was too weak for gmail.  evil 1, good 0.  

another array of wind turbines.  saw these on the descent into Copenhagen.  They are probably in the Oresund Strait.

still need to read that email from tamara but need internet.  saw a wifi hotspot sign.  followed the instructions but did not receive the email activation quickly.  got impatient.  followed signs for the bathroom.  airport seems very crowded.  found the signs and went down three flights of stairs.  secret underground lair bathroom.  each stall had tiled walls.  privacy.  but no sign of ventilation except a crack of light coming under the door.  sounds carry almost the same as hung partitions but maybe its better.  dual flush toilets must be standard here.  they had a little symbol on the top with a half full circle and a full circle.  even their signage is thoughtful.  

went to the exchange place looking to get rid of some traveler's checks.  turns out traveler's checks are pretty much useless in italy or maybe anywhere.  exchange place seemed to be working until I mentioned travellers checks.  she told me to go to amex to exchange them.  waited in an unnecessarily long line at amex.  there were three people on computers right in front of us.  each of the first two had a sign on the counter that said “the agent in the next window will be happy to help you.  nice.  why don’t they just say 'I am busy doing something that makes my company more money than exchanging your weak dollar for our strong danish kroner.  plus I am better looking than you.'?

when it was finally my turn she got three phone calls in a row. two of which she handed to her buddy who was magically taking human customers all of the sudden.  she took the travellers checks and had to make another phone call supposedly to verify something.  then she entered a whole bunch of numbers into the phone.  standard procedure?  standard.  for the record, danish kroner and swedish kroner look almost identical. she tells me to look carefully because at the bottom of danish kroner it says "danish" and at the bottom of the swedish kroner it says nothing.

Danish kroner, swedish kroner, and swedish coins.  exchange rate for swedish is about 6.5 sek to $1.

eventually I had danish kroner and swedish kroner in my hands and moved back to finding the internet.  turns out you have to actually wait a few minutes for the email to come through.  no patience because I needed to get my bag off the conveyor.  followed signs to baggage.  mine was on a conveyor belt that was empty and not moving.  no surprise.  wifi plus bathroom plus amex could have been 45 minutes.

next mission: buy a ticket to malmo.  line was obviously long and a guy at the front was hassling the woman speaking into the microphone about his invalid ticket.  she tells him to see the station master and that there’s nothing she can do.  steff’s place, the hot dog stand sells beer too... plus I have danish money.  gotta stop there... gotta get to malmo...  I like her british accent.

train arrives almost instantaneously.  smooth as silk.  yes this is the train to malmo.  once on the train the first person I see has a celeste blue bianchi, circa 1995.  his is not made of Reynolds and the badge is a sticker not a metal emblem.  we talk for a few minutes about biking.  I ask him for a good shop in town.  he recommends fridhem near riversborg beach.  gotta check that place out.  I ask a young woman which stop to get off at to get to vastra hamnen.  she doesn’t know but three other helpful people know and one even tells me bus #2 gets me from the train station to vastra hamnen.  she’s speaking spanish to her son and another man.

train stops are smooth and quick.  people are orderly and polite.  2 minutes, four minutes, twelve minutes to Lund from Malmo Center.  fast.  arriving at Malmo Center another helpful person tells me the buses are straight ahead.  maybe people want to practice their english?  entering the train station I notice the beautiful shape of the roof.  timbers painted red and bent to a perfect arch.  bolted together.  must be fifty feet high.  

I pass by the swedish hot dog spot and the american food place with hamburgers and french fries.  I see the sushi place and several different versions of a cafe and a coffee shop as well as a smoothie store.  I get to a shop that looks like heaven.  a young blond woman is pulling little open faced sandwiches from under a glass counter and adjusting them onto a little rectangular plate that fits three perfectly.  she makes a plate of pickled herring, salmon, and pate.  the world’s most perfect plate.  each more delectable than the last.  she serves it to two older folks at bar stools who order two carlsbergs as liquid compliment.  it is here that I decide to ask about internet in malmo.  the girl does not quite understand but the other woman working at the shop who looks like she could be the mother of the younger waitress tells me in perfect english that there is free wireless in the train station.  tack.  

the trifecta of swedish goodness (I came to find out later that these little delectable sandies are actually Danish in origin.  still delicious though

I move away from the counter to test the internet.  within minutes I am signed up on the free cloud and ready for lunch.  The trifecta of swedish goodness is mine along with a swedish beer.  I set up shop at the corner of the counter and click through an email to tamara explaining that I have arrived a day early and asking to add one night to my reservation of three weeks at her apartment in Vastra Hamnen, the western harbor.

while I await a response I charge my iphone, which is also on the internet thanks to the wifi.  no charges as long as I keep it on airplane mode and do not activate the phone portion which would allow calls and texts.  I google tipping practices in sweden and find out that food and drinks are usually tipped by rounding up and everything else including services receives no extra compensation.  when I pay I round up from 95 to 100 swedish kroner, about $16 I think.  not the cheapest but certainly the best meal I have ever had in a train station.

still no response from tamara so I guess I need to go to the bar in the train station to watch Man U versus South Hampton.  drinking a falcon on tap for a whopping 80 kroner I watch Man U getting picked apart by a clearly inferior South Hampton squad.  the game goes up and down and I become friends with a local guy from malmo sitting next to me.  he’s clearly rooting for Man U so I do the same.  after an obvious foul in the box, newly acquired Van Persie needs only to slide a penalty past the outclassed South Hampton goalkeeper to tie the game at two, but he tries the old slight chip and in a twist the goalie pops up his outstretched hand for an amazing save.  they’re still in the game with a one goal lead and only 20 minutes left.  you know your team is amazing when Nani is a bench player.  he comes on and eventually Van Persie scores two more for the hat trick and the win, the clincher 3.45 into 4 minutes of extra time.

of course the first bar I come to in Malmo is Boston themed.  even has a young Menino autograph on the wall.

now that the game is over, I have another beer with my new friend, Robin.  he’s studying to be a teacher at the local university.  he laughs when I call it that.  everyone here calls it the college.  we talk about sustainability, the growth and evolution of malmo as a city, and how education plays a role in development of children's views on sustainable living.  quite an interesting conversation for a couple of sports nuts at a bar drinking falcons on tap.

Tamara sends me a text and tells me to come over after 8pm when she gets home, so I finish my beer and look around for a ticket booth.  I see a machine and a guy feeding money into it.  he explains that I need to buy a jojo card (their version of a charlie card).  the bus stops in this town are state of the art, complete with digital signs that announce the next bus.  mine is the number 2 and goes to what was once the shipbuilding capitol of Europe.

bus station outside train station.  digital announcement for bus arrival times.

I get off the bus and walk a couple hundred meters in the direction I think I need to go and arrive at what seems like the end of the earth in terms of urbanity.  the wind is blowing fiercely and the street abruptly ends by turning from pavement into gravel.  there are no more street lights.  ahead of me and on both sides there are construction vehicles parked for the night and several pretty solid configurations of shipping container job site "trailers".  I'm standing in front of a building on Riggaregatan in Vastra Hamnen.  maybe I am at the end... or maybe its just the beginning...

looking back toward the turning torso in Vastra Hamnen from the end of my street.