Danish architects Bjarke Ingels Group have won a competition to masterplan a new gateway to Stockholm at the intersection of two motorways. 

Called Energy Valley, their proposal for Stockholmsporten will create an artificial valley containing a park with separate areas of forest, wetlands, grass lawns and hills, and will also feature a mirrored sphere hovering over the road junction.

Continuous cycle paths and footpaths looping through the area will connect attractions including a shopping centre, a hammam and a mosque.

Built around the junction between the E18 and E4 highways, Stockholmsporten is the largest infrastructure project in Sweden.

BIG win the competition in collaboration with Grontmij and Spacescape.

More information on the Stockholmsporten masterplan competition here (in Swedish)

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Here's some more information from the architects:

BIG WINS THE STOCKHOLMSPORTEN MASTER PLAN

BIG + Grontmij + Spacescape are the winning team for the Stockholmsporten master plan competition to design an inviting new entrance portal into Stockholm at the intersection of a newly planned super-junction.

The planned Hjulsta Intersection 15 km north of Stockholm where two European highways the E18 and E4 Bypasses converge into a three level intersection, amounts to the largest infrastructure project in Sweden, required due to the growth and development of the capital. The Stockholmsporten competition seeks to define the Hjulsta intersection through sculpting the surrounding landscape and framing the automotive scale of the intersection. Additionally the proposal connects the adjacent Järvafäl tet recreation area through a continuous promenade to the distinctive natural and heritage-laden environment and adds new qualities to the site. BIG was selected as the winner of the invited competition among proposals from Norwegian Snøhetta, Danish landscape architect Kristine Jensen and Swedish Erik Giudice Architects.

”The magnificent bowl shape of this proposal is an ingenious solution which interacts with the geometry of the intersection while at the same time creating an urban context linking together the different areas surrounding the site. Possibilities of adding qualities and activities to the place which will benefit residents are very elegantly added.” Jury Report, Stockholmsporten.

Prior to this competition, the intersecting roads would create physical and visual barriers between the surrounding neighborhoods and divide them into four areas totaling 580.000 m2. BIG’s proposal, the Energy Valley, re-connects these in an un-hierarchical and democratic way through a continuous circular bike and pedestrian loop aligned with public buildings and functions, including a shopping- and sports centre, a hammam and a mosque which will attract visitors from Stockholm and its suburbs.

By introducing natural environments of differing characters within the loop, an Energy Valley in the center turns into a pie shaped park of pine-and oak forests, wetlands, grass lawns and hilly terrain which create a diverse experience when moving in or around the landscape. The surrounding neighborhoods have room to grow, thus expanding infrastructure and developments up to the ridge of the new valley.

“The Energy Valley is a cross-over between urbanism, landscape, architecture, art and infrastructure into a new neighborhood of Stockholm. Harnessing the momentum of the massive investment in tunnels and highways and putting the excess excavation to use as a man-made valley, we create an interdisciplinary hybrid of logistic, economic, environmental and social infrastructure.” Bjarke Ingels, Founder & Partner, BIG.

The site has a great potential in serving as a new entryway into Stockholm. This point is turned into a reflective, self-sustaining hovering sphere mirroring Stockholm as it is, new and old, creating a 180 degree view of the area for the drivers on their way in or out of the city.

30% of the sphere’s surface is covered with Photovoltaic film that faces the sun and produces enough energy to keep it floating while supplying 235 houses in the neighborhood with electricity.

The Stockholm Sphere is an ever changing icon that marks an entry point to the city and reflects the passing seasons and the evolving urban life beneath it.

“Traditionally highways split adjacent areas into disconnected neighborhoods – a good side and a bad side. Our biggest challenge was how to create the maximum benefit by connecting the four parts cut by the intersecting highways. The intersection is thus tamed by the connecting link that circumscribes it.” Jakob Lange, Partner-in-Charge, Stockholmsporten, BIG.

STOCKHOLMSPORTEN INFORMATION

Name Stockholmsporten
Program Master plan, Landscape
Type Prequalified Competition
Size 580.000 m2
Client City of Stockholm, Swedish Transport Administration
Collaborators Grontmij, Spacescape
Location Stockholm, Sweden
Status 1st prize / In progress

BIG
Partner in Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Jakob Lange
Project Leader: Hanna Johansson
Team: Camille Crepin, Barbora Srpkova, Alessio Valmori, Xiao Xuan Lu, Krista Meskanen, Long Zuo

Grontmij AB
Veronika Borg, Albin Ahlquist, Anders Falk , Mats Mauritzson, Nils-Göran Nilsson, Christer Johansson, Bengt Ridell

Spacescape AB
Alexander Ståhle, Tobias Nordström

See also:

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PUU-BO by BIG	National Gallery of Greenland by BIG	West 57th by BIG