Villa Trolludden

Bor du i Göteborgstrakten är det möjligt att samma sak hände dig som mig i måndags. Det vill säga att du började bläddra i bostadsdelen av Göteborgs-Posten och den första annonsen du såg var huset. Med versaler.

Såg bilderna. Läste beskrivningen och tänkte “inte illa”. Sedan såg jag priset. 39.000.000 kronor. Och tänkte att det var ju mycket pengar. Väldigt mycket pengar. Det är lite irriterande att allt som man tycker om antingen är utom räckhåll eller inte bra för en.

Men vad är en dans på slottet som Askungen skulle ha sagt. Livet går vidare. Men kunde ju inte låta bli att ta mig en titt på husets hemsida. För det här huset, enligt mäklaren Bjurfors, är inte ett objekt som läggs ut på Hemnet. Det förtjänar en egen hemsida.

Och för dom pengarna – varför inte? Så tack och lov för Internet. I det här fallet för att det ger en möjlighet till inside information (bildligt talat) om vad man kan få för 39 miljoner kronor. Lite imponerad blir man ju nu onekligen.

Det som jag gjorde mest intryck på mig var dock inte huset. Vilket jag redan hade sett och dyrkat. Utan det var gästhuset. Att ha ett sådant i två plan på totalt 90 kvm – allt i mycket gott skick – säger en hel del.

The new landscape of the City of London

This is a rather interesting audio visual piece from the Financial Times on the changing landscape of the City of London in the past 25 years. Including the importance of “social” areas.

You need to register – for free – in order to access the material.

Från bondeland till gräddhylla ...

Ja, nu är den klar. E-boken om bostadsutveclingen i Lundby (Göteborg) de senaste 160 åren. Kolla in den här!

Former school building at Lindholmen, Gothenburg, Sweden

Less is more is apparently a phrase commonly associated with the architect and furniture designer Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, a champion of modern architecture and simplicity of style.

He’s not the architect behind the building seen above. But the essence of the phrase nevertheless fits. At first glance the building appears totally void of unneccessary decor. Looking closer, however, one can see the decorative fishbone pattern of the brownish bricks. And the windows are a feature in themselves.

Needless to say the building’s imposing impression is greatly enhanced by its location just at the edge of a hill. Being a former school that is perhaps just what the architect intended – gotta get the respect from the pupils one way or another.

Lundby Old Church

Lundby Old Church

Lundby Old Church - north facing window.

What a fab start to the day. A bit on the coolish side, but sunny and crisp – lovely!

Decided to take a few photos of Old Lundby church that I walk past more or less every morning. It’s just such a cute little building with a lot of old-fashioned charm about it. With the oldest part of the church dating from the 1390s, that might be expected though.

Just did some more in-depth research about the church and found out something I didn’t have clue about – the bad North. As in compass north.

For example.  The window that can be seen on the third photo from the top above was only installed in the late 19th century. Previously, apparently, people believed that north equalled DARK forces. Hence the importance to shut them off.

The second thing learnt today is that until Christianity descended on Sweden, people were commonly buried in a north/southerly direction. In order to turn the person away from the bad.

Later the custom was to bury people in an east/westerly direction. Which becomes obvious looking around the cemetry surrounding the church.

For more enlightened people than myself the content of this post might be old news. But personally I feel like I have expanded my brain today.

And I’ve always had an issue with North. Just don’t like it. Now I’m beginning to think there could be something in my genes …

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 wharves 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 such a magnificant historical symbol but at the same time cool enough to stand the test of time.

I like. Very much.

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!

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.

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?

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.