Dance and play
featured in sb magazine 4/2021
In collaboration with a focus group of girls living in Stockholm’s Bredäng suburb, Nivå Landskapsarkitektur has developed a park for spontaneous dance, play and free sports. Current research demonstrates that the majority of Swedish children and youth do not engage enough in daily physical activity. This problem is most pressing amongst older teenage girls – and was the inspiration to start the process to formulate new, more inclusive opportunities for physical activity that would appeal to a wide cross-section of society.
photo: Robin Hayes
photo: Robin Hayes
The proposal responds to the fact that the site has been dominated by a football pitch used mainly by boys and men for organised sports. The focus group, however, emphasised the importance of instead creating a safe and vibrant space for everyone, where friends, siblings and even parents and relatives can spend time together. Through a series of workshops, the project developed a design for a park that would stimulate spontaneous physical activity more broadly.
Good to know
photo: Robin Hayes
Location
Bredäng, Stockholm, Sweden
Client/operator
Skärholmen City District Administration
Architect
Nivå Landskapsarkitektur
SE – 116 28 Stockholm
www.nivaland.se
Author
Nivå Landskapsarkitektur
Photos
Robin Hayes
Official opening
June 2020
Pergola allows year-round use
photo: Robin Hayes
A pergola with stepped seating encloses the north-east boundaries of the park. It was custom-made for the project and integrates lighting in its steel structure to ensure that the site can be used throughout the day and during all seasons. A sound system with a Bluetooth receiver allows visitors to play music of their choice.
Steel mesh with vines creates a transparent demarcation from the surroundings. At the western end of the pergola a barbecue area is situated, using the pergola roof as a canopy in case of rain. At the opposite end, a climbing net and climbing ropes are integrated in the structure.
All over the black asphalt surface a playful pattern of orange and white thermoplastic circles, lines and dots has been rolled out. It aims to inspire kids, teenagers or anyone else coming around, to spontaneously engage in playful running, jumping, dancing or kick-biking. A range of various play and sport equipment is spread over the site – a ping-pong table, basketball hoops, trampolines, and a large multi-swing – all of which were results of the underlying dialogue process.
