Albydal

An area rich in experience

Social sustainability, ecology and good urban spaces have been central in the design of Albydal, and we have worked very hard to create a really lovely place for those who stay here. Through careful design with large elements of vegetation, an environment is offered that attracts both play, joy of discovery and rest. We also add a small scale with pedestrian streets and greenery of a kind that is not found along the larger streets. Here you can live and work, but also as a visitor take part in a large selection of restaurants, cafes, grocery stores, squares, city streets, sports or cultural facilities. Branded buildings in the new area are in visual contact with large-scale landmarks throughout northern Stockholm. In this expansive area, Albydal gets its very own identity.

Connectivity, mobility and security

Connectivity is a measure of how well lines connect to each other and different target points. High connectivity is a quality on a human level, the ability to see each other, have an overview, understand where you are moving, feel safe. In combination with, among other things, clear lines of sight, access to daylight and a good microclimate, it creates good conditions for a safe, lively and lovely place to stay.

It must be easy to move both to and within Albydal and it is important to accommodate the needs and functions of different road users in the street environment. The area is surrounded by main streets for all types of traffic and as a complement we are building new paths for pedestrians and cyclists. It provides good accessibility and safety but also higher experiential values ​​in terms of urbanity and greenery. A green pedestrian street opens into an entrance square and connects the area with the new subway station.

The functions and entrances of the ground floors are designed to be clear and contribute to street life. Service functions are mainly placed at street corners and intersections and in the basement floors that do not house services, we suggest bicycle garages, laundry rooms, etc. Ground floors have a high proportion of large glass sections for contact between the inner life of the houses and the street space. Balconies and courtyards also have visual contact with street life. On the raised housing estates, there are premises for parties, cultivation and meetings.

Climate-focused planning

The goal is a dense and varied district with very high sustainability ambitions. Here we want to inspire social interaction and a sustainable lifestyle. The proposal takes height for building volumes with low climate impact and the longest possible life cycle. The area is planned to withstand future changes and long-term climate adaptation. This means that the plan creates a prerequisite for floor heights for climate-smart wooden frames and a high degree of conversion of the existing office building that stands on the site today.

Choices of material and structure are also made based on opportunities for conversion and reuse. Structurally, we have worked to ensure that double garage floors can be converted into premises if necessary. All provision of the blocks, such as loading and garbage disposal, takes place internally to avoid backlogs and be flexible in the face of future logistical innovation solutions. For materials that have been proposed, we have proposed those with a low climate impact throughout the cycle, the materials must be available on a recycling market, but also able to be reconditioned and one day used again.

We strengthen the ecosystem services by, among other things, adding a lot of greenery and water as part of life between the houses. This means both lush plantings and visible water for play and experience values, as well as for managing daytime and rainwater and promoting biodiversity. The green square is a car-free and sunny place where the visitor can sit on a bench surrounded by greenery and look out at the water mirror and the passers-by. Here, a care tree also gets room to spread out, to the delight of both animals and people.

In the project, we have managed a large complex program, which was facilitated by our method of working in the early stages and tools for analyzes in 3D model. The beauty of working with parametric tools is that we quickly obtain the information we need for e.g. light and microclimate, good measurements for offices and homes or good property economic conditions. If we keep track of that information at all times, we can focus on designing the architecture and the locations.

A good collaboration with Vasakronan and the city of Solna has been a prerequisite for being able to develop solutions for an area with the complexity that exists on the site and in the challenges of our time. The subway station is expected to be launched in 2028 and the area is in a process of gradual expansion throughout the 2020s and into 2030.

More about the project on Vasakronan's website: https://vasakronan.se/projekt/albydal/