Diversity in the City of Tomorrow
By: Abderezak Azib
Tags: Landscape Design, Urban Planning, Urban Development

Source: WordPress.com

DIVERSITY IN THE ARCHITECTURE

Offering homes to 30,000 people, the 54-acre site is largely inhabited by diverse buildings, with over 70 buildings on site that provide 1425 units. The rest of the area is taken up by water, large trees, and small open spaces populated with greenery. Presenting an aesthetic impact of high residential density, the combination of plot sizes and architectural requirements essentially allowed the character and scale of buildings to differ from block to block (Austin, 2013). Full of a dynamic character in its unpredictable orientation and placement, the design of different sized buildings plays an essential role in residents’ comfortability. From five to- to seven-story buildings, with many having green roofs, constructed on the west and north perimeters, they became a wind and weather barrier to protect the smaller and distinctly organized interior buildings and lush green courtyards.

Many of the buildings employ a variety of sustainable strategies and applications in their function. This in part is due to the efforts taken by city officials along with developers through ‘Creative Dialogue’ in order to establish the ‘Quality Program.’ Which set the required standards for developers to meet. The measurement outlined in the program showcases the commitment to the material, technological, environmental, and architectural quality (Givan.K, A+DS).

Eva Dalman, an architect as part of the project from the start, mentions how the keyword in Bo01’s strategy was “diversity”. No buildings are the same. Each was designed by an architect (mostly Swedish), using different materials, with a different mix of accommodation inside, and each is decked out in its own bright color scheme” (The Guardian, 2005). The end product encompasses both commercial and social services.

What makes Bo01’s architecture very attractive according to Klas Tham; the grandeur architect is the “intelligently utilized information technology” (Fitzgerald, 2016). With many of the buildings taking a unique design, yet altogether function as one unit. As a playground for designers and architects, we get to see a glimpse of the future in these structures, intertwined with the past and origins of Sweden, the colorful traditional Swedish home styles that are deeply rooted in a solid Scandinavian architecture, to a modem or arguably futuristic-looking homes, with all white or black exterior paint certainly sets the tone for the future. We also get to see open layouts building structures that focus on optimizing views and capturing daylight, these tend to be loft-style homes and or duplexes. The other appealing type of architectural designs are the single homes that are scattered around Bo01 and follow the direction of miniature canals, these homes all have front courtyards with dedicated planting spaces, this is also where you get to see most of the greenery in the neighborhood, providing a pleasing network of pathways for residents to enjoy, These single homes are a special addition to the location given the high-density urban character. All of which are building structures that are located within the perimeter of the site, surrounding the site are up to six-story building apartments that function as gatekeepers for the neighborhood, by providing protection from the strong exposure to western winds. Another strategic implementation in the designs that make the architecture unique in its blend is the materials used and how they all complement one another in a cluster fashion. It isn’t apparent whether the intention behind the materials used to be placed in accordance to its adjacent structure or simply to let the final product unfold in an organic manner, regardless, the outcomes deemed appropriate. The juxtaposition of the buildings created in Bo01 provide a lesson that experimentation is a vital key to reaching new horizons, as it allowed the city of Malmo to become a successful example in tackling issues that still hold back sustainable development in many cities around the world (TEN, 2010)