Public Plays : offentlig arena för aktivitet

Abstract: This project is a contribution in the debate of sustainable city planning. The conceptual ideas in this project can be used on many places and are here applyed on the center of Nacka, outside of Stockholm. The essay is based on an entry in the competition Europan 9, advertised by Europan in collaboration with the municipality of Nacka. The theme of the competition is "sustainable city and public space". The discussion of the sustainable city is a very wide subject which needs to be narrowed to suite the context of Nacka. In this project, focus lies on the individuals. The city being a reflection of its inhabitants, we believe that a healthy lifestyle creates a healthy city. Active inhabitants creates opportunities for an active city. In the project the activity of the people forms the design of the environment. The environment will then encourage people to engage in outdoor activities, leading to increased physical and mental health. Healthy people do good at work and in social life, thus an active lifestyle leads to economical and social sustainability. By examine these questions and finding a spatial solution for the area, we raise an issue in the debate of what might form a sustainable city. A vision of an active and healthy city is timeless and unaffected by political changes. Through an activation of public space, everyone is part of creating a streetlife. Streetlife is important as an arena for people to meet, people from different groups who seldom meet in other situations. What does the design of the active outdoor environment look like? How is it possible to create an environment that makes people play? To make spontaneous activity possible, there has to be space for it in the everyday environment. To create these spaces, the usual sporting area has to be broken down into smaller areas. These smaller areas have to advertise that they are meant for activity and open for everyone. We want to encourage activity by giving the areas a distinctive shape - the shape of a circle. Being a hybrid space, one area can invite to different kinds of activities. Markings on the ground, different materials and so on, will further stimulate to a variety of activities. To get movement in the area, magnets, such as the school, the tube (in the future), the shopping mall Forum and the sport arenas are used. The streets are placed in a way that will assemble people rather than spreading them out. The structure of the area is a sustainable framework that can remain though houses and blocks may change over time. Since the area is situated in the central part of Nacka there is a high level of urbanity. Within the area there is also valuable nature that is kept. The exploited areas therefore have to be quite densely built-up. The new part goes well together with the surroundings, taking into consideration the qualities of Ryssbergen and the sea. This is our proposal on how to give Nacka an urban node without removing the existing qualities.