Home > Magazine > Issues > #34 Jul/Aug 2010 > Hilltop landscape plan, Östersund

Hilltop landscape plan, Östersund

Hilltop landscape plan

ÖSTERSUND (SE) - 42 architects' proposal is a 'place for all' that has minimal impact on nature.

During the last ten years or so, there has been growing interest in Europe for architecture that packages nature as a tourist attraction. Whereas in the past, nature lovers arriving at their destination – be it a mountain, a wetland or a forest – encountered a simple wooden hut where they could get a cup of coffee or watch the birds, nowadays they are more likely to find an eye-catching pavilion designed to entice more visitors to the nature reserve in question. And whereas previously they roamed the area along sketchily marked paths, now there are spectacularly designed walkways and lookout towers that present nature as an 'experience'.

A10 has already published several examples of such nature experiences, such as the glacier-shaped cable-lift in Innsbruck, Austria (Zaha Hadid, 2007), the treetop walkway in Kew Gardens (Marks Barfield Architects, 2008) and the Forest Tower in Putten, the Netherlands (SeARCH Architects, 2009).

The design that London-based 42 Architects made for Östberget, a hill in the centre of the city of Östersund, in northern Sweden, eschews tourist spectacle and focuses instead on the local population. Incidentally, the main reason for doing so is the fact that earlier plans for the area's development as a tourist attraction ran into stiff local resistance. As a result, the architects, who collaborated with the Stockholm art institute Färgfabriken Art Space in drawing up the proposal, were intent on making 'a place for all' that would impact as little as possible on nature.

The plan consists of four elements. First there is an elevated walkway that winds through the area and offers views of Östersund and the lake beside which it lies. The second element is a lighting plan, a grid of 50 lamp posts. Thirdly, there are rest areas at key viewpoints where visitors can make a fire. And finally, there is a restaurant. Embedded in the side of the hill, beneath a green roof, it provides shelter from the cold climate, but its visual impact on the environment is minimal.

Despite the architects' restraint, they have no desire to return to the days of the wooden hut; their design seeks to achieve a symbiosis between 'the hyper modern' and 'a strong local heritage and culture'. One example of this approach is the innovative lighting, consisting of wind-driven lights that rotate in the direction of the wind.

Whether the project will actually be realized depends on financing. The architects are currently consulting with the local council and relevant bodies about securing the necessary funding. Whatever happens, the design, which was recently exhibited in the Färgfabriken Art Space gallery, offers starting points for the debate about the (re-)development of nature areas in general, and is a source of inspiration for the further development of Östersund in particular.