September 3rd, 2010
The Eriksberg gantry crane. September 2010.
The 1969 gantry crane against the backdrop of a 2010 built high-rise.
In 1969 the shipbuilding industry in Gothenburg, Sweden was high octane. The diligent sounds from the wharfs echoed across the water, lingering into the very fabric of the city.
As a result of booming business Eriksberg’s shipyard ordered a gantry crane from Germany 80 metres high and weighing 1750 tonnes. The crane became a symbol of success as well as a landmark. Obviously – the sheer size of it hardly went unnoticeable.
Only a few years later things began to go downhill. Rather drastically. The wharf closed in 1979, but business had been waning long before then resulting in the necessity to lay off thousands of employees.
The gravity of shipbuilding manufacturing was shifting in favour of other global arenas, which affected not only Gothenburg but many other European shipyards.
In the doldrums following the overall economic void of the late 1970s, Eriksberg fell into decline as politicians and other stakeholders where juggling possible ways forward. That is, what do to with the massive derelict areas occupied by the former shipbuilding industry.
In Eriksberg’s case it was eventually decided that an appropriate solution would be to gentrify the area by accommodation. Mainly.
Whilst exact details of the plans were being developed, the area around the gantry crane became an events venue with various happenings such as concerts taking place. The crane for a while became a bungy jumping facility.
In the last couple of years housing has been moving in big scale. And the crane is now listed. Which it should be. It’s just a such magnificant historical symbol but at the same time cool enough to stand the test of time.
I like. Very much.
Posted in Design, Events, Historic, Landscaping, Regeneration, Urban | Comments Off
August 22nd, 2010
Allmännyttan: Välfärdsbygge 1850-2000
Att bygga ett land.
Först fanns inte mycket. Inte mycket alls. Till bostadsstandard. Här i Sverige. Vilket kanske är svårt att tro när man tittar sig runt omkring idag.
Många svenskar har säkert hört från mor- och farföräldrar om hur fattigt det en gång var i landet. Och säkerligen finns det fortfarande de som har förstahandserfarenhet av misären. Bostadsnormen var för arbetarproletariatet till och med 1940-talet ett rum och kök. Oavsett hur många barn man hade. På t ex Lindholmen i Göteborg var det helt normalt att bo 11 barn och två vuxna i en etta på 25 kvm.
När den sociala ingenjörskonst á la gigantiska proportioner som svepte över Sverige efter andra världskriget, med bostaden som dess främsta verktyg, var det säkert många som var tacksamma. Inte minst för att få möjlighet till kranvatten och toalett i sin lägenhet. Och för det extra utrymmet som de nybyggda bostadshusen erbjöd – två rum med kök blev den nya “normala” bostadsstandarden.
Säg dock det goda som varar för evigt – även om grundtanken med miljonprogrammet var välmenad, kan det med en titt i bakspegeln knappast kallas för ett av de bästa politiska initiativ som tagits.
Men vilken spännande tid, bostadspolitiskt sett, det var fram tills dess! Och till viss del efter. Miljonprogrammet fick som konsekvens att bostadsbyggandet sjönk som en sten i ett årtionde framöver. Här i Göteborg hände inte mycket på bostadsfronten förrän på tidigt 90-tal. Fast då blev det å andra sidan en rivstart när Sveriges största stadsförnyelseprojekt satte igång på Norra Älvstranden.
Om allt detta och mycket mer finns att läsa i två riktigt bra-iga böcker i ämnet. Allmännyttan: Välfärdsbygge 1850-2000 av Klas Ramberg illustrerar bostadsfrågan generellt och allmännyttans framväxt specifikt. Att bygga ett land: 1900-talets svenska arkitektur redigerad av Claes Caldenby ser utvecklingen mer från ett arkitekturperspektiv.
Båda böcker har några år på nacken men är värda guld i sin omfattning och kunniga innehåll!
Posted in Architecture / Arkitektur, Books / Böcker, Historic, Regeneration, Social housing, Urban | No Comments »
August 21st, 2010
A London bicycle scheme. No brand names mentioned.
Late July. And the “London bicycle scheme” is officially launched. Although use is not yet for everyone. Because during the first month it’s for people who have especially signed up for it.
A couple of bikes can be seen on the streets though. Which is very encouraging. As in my opinion bicycling is such a great way to get around London.
Sure, traffic is manic and for some even overbearing. But it’s a mainly flat landscape and the distances between remarkable sightseeing objects short. Not that they have to be sightseeing objects. Nor remarkable. Just getting from point A to B will do.
There are always issues with schemes like this, but I have fate it will be a bit of a success story.
Oh, and that’s me on the bike. But just posing.
Posted in Public policy, Urban | No Comments »
August 20th, 2010
Green metal fencing in Wandsworth, SW11 London
In my opinion, humbly based on personal observations in the London area, nine of 10 metal fences are blackish. Which is fine, as black is currently my favourite garden accessories’ colour.
But sometimes too much of the same just ain’t good for expanding creative thinking. So was quite pleased to spot this green metal fence today. And the contrast, or lack thereof, with the nearby plants is rather interesting. The fence sort of becomes like one with the plant greenery and as such enhance their presence. Or should that be the other way around?
Posted in Colours / Färger, Design, Garden / Trädgård, Plants / växter | No Comments »
August 19th, 2010
Garden Plants & Flowers Through The Year
With a title beginning with the Royal Horticultural Society one gets the drift that the book in question is to be a high quality one. And the excellent Garden Plants & Flowers Through The Year, written by Ian Spence is not an exception. Originally published in 2003 and revised in 2009 it’s not a new release, but that doesn’t mean that it feels out-of-date.
At least not in my mind. Divided into main sections such as Trees and shrubs, Climbing plants and Flowering Plants each part contains plant descriptions in an alphabetical order. Accompanied by illustrative photos. If you are like me who love the text/photo combination, you will appreciate this. Too many books out there intricately describe various plants, in Latin, but with no photo. Which to me is a waste of time. A picture says more than a thousand words and so forth.
This book is genuinely an easy-to-use guide for everyone.
Posted in Books / Böcker, Plants / växter | No Comments »
August 17th, 2010
Överflödig dräneringsjord.
Som blandat med "riktig" jord kan forma grunden till en ny gräsmatta.
Och som underlag till stenläggning. My way.
När jag började mitt senaste dräneringsprojekt satte jag som mål att jobbet skulle vara slutfört i september. Eftersom jag började gräva den 17e juni är det idag exakt två månader sedan första spadtaget togs. En ytterst moderat ansats om dagen innebär att jag nu till 85% är klar, men pga det ständiga regnandet de senaste veckorna känns det lite som projektplanen börjar förskjutas. Men nog måste jag vara klar med det hela om sex veckor …?
Ja, det återstår ju att se. Har dock faktiskt börjat tackla högarna av all överflödig jord/lera från “diket” som jag vet inte kommer att återanvändas. Åtminstone inte på samma plats.
För att undvika ansträngningen att forsla bort massorna mekaniskt – via bil e. d. – tittade jag mig omkring i trädgården efter lämplig plats att avyttra dem. Och hittade faktiskt några, vilket känns bra med tanke på att min tomt inte direkt är av gigantiska proportioner. Har skapat lite merjobb på kuppen men det är sådant man får leva med.
Posted in Design, Garden / Trädgård, Landscaping, Problematics | No Comments »
August 16th, 2010
Section of the Roman Wall in the City of London
Section of the Roman Wall in the City of London
The Roman Wall in the City of London is mighty impressive. And OLD.
Like how it has been used as a backdrop here for this courtyard. Still filling a function after all this time … Do appreciate though that this kind of feature may not be available to all garden designers. Pity, eh?
Posted in Design, Garden / Trädgård, Historic, Landscaping, Public spaces, Urban | No Comments »
August 15th, 2010
A modern take on a walled garden?
Surrounding walls. Flowering borders. Pergola. Strategically placed benches. All are components of an old-fashioned English walled garden.
As they are in the garden in the above photo. Which can, on the face of it, hardly be described as old-fashioned. Nor particularly English-looking. Mind you, the latter might be explained by the fact that it’s situated in Sweden. Gothenburg to be more specific.
In this case, the walls are not as high as they would have been in a classical example. And they consist of massive greyish granite slabs rather than redish brick. The borders do, however, dazzle with obligatory roses and lavender. Although the pergola is a tad difficult to spot towards the back of the photo, it’s most definitely there. But rather than having been constructed in traditional wood material, it’s made out of steel.
Needless to say the ultra modern apartment block adjacent to the garden is not the backdrop one would expect to see next to a traditional walled garden.
Differences aside, however – there are too many similarities here to be a coincidence. At least the way I see it. Sweden may be a country 1000% dedicated to modernism (read functionalism), but this particular garden is certainly not without references to the traditional.
Posted in Exteriors / Exteriör, Garden / Trädgård, Green spaces, Landscaping, Plants / växter, Public spaces | No Comments »
August 14th, 2010
Sett paving.
Like this sett / cobblestone design! The wide-spaced setts on the top photo infilled with gravel is rather cool. And so is the fountain!
Posted in Garden / Trädgård, Green spaces, Landscaping | No Comments »
August 12th, 2010
My house without hedge.
My house with hedge 11 years later.
Planting this Thuja occidentalis hedge when I first moved into my house 11 years ago is probably the best thing I’ve done. Not to mention the best investment. Through the kindness of the previous owner’s heart I actually got permission to plant it before I formally acquired access to the house. Shows you how keen I was to kick-start some kind of privacy in that garden.
It was only today though that I decided it was about time to purchase an electrical hedge cutter (cut it with a manual one before). Being a total novice to that kind of equipment initially thought it was great fun cutting away. For about 20 minutes or so – before my body began to realise the hard work involved. The cutter might speed up the cutting process, but carrying around 2.8 kg for a longish period of time take its toll!
By then it was too late, however. All I could see was the amazing result and just had to finish the project. Which in all took about 2 1/2 hours (inluding cleaning up the offcuts afterwards). By then my arms felt like they were about to fall off.
But I reckon it was all worth it!
Posted in Garden / Trädgård, Landscaping, Planning, Plants / växter | No Comments »