Flemingsberg, a 35 year-old suburban area located to the south of Stockholm, is a typical example of its time. Some 7,000 dwellings were built around a 400,000m² mega hospital to provide housing for the total hospital workforce amounting to about 7,000 people. Unfortunately, it all went a bit astray, since only the mega-hospital was to live up to the expectations. Few hospital staff members actually moved to the area, and those that did live in the area worked somewhere else, if anywhere at all. Over time, Flemingsberg became a true problem area.
In order to resolve the situation and with the aim to achieve a more balanced social structure, the government and county council in collaboration with the local government invested heavily in Flemingsberg. A complete redevelopment of the housing stock was followed by investments in a new railway station that serves local, regional and to some extent even national trains and a new University college. New research premises and planned commercial ventures are due to follow.
Throughout this process Ahlqvist&Almqvist architects played an active role, serving as one of theplanning and design consultants for the local authority as well as for the regional bodies and development companies. As consultants to Huge, the local authority’s housing and development company, Ahlqvist and Almqvist Architects are presently designing a total refurbishment of the area’s 4,000m² commercial centre, including a 2,000m² extension and a 14-stories housing block consisting of 200 new 25m² student housing units.