Sweden’s Sweeping Green Roofed Hillside City
by Mike Chino, 01/19/09
Nestled beneath an undulating series of rolling green roofs, Kjellgren Kaminsky Architects New Heden project transforms a vacant city block is a self-contained sustainable city interspersed with cycling paths and walkways. Envisioned as a “green lung” for Gothenburg, Sweden, the development will introduce a beautiful expanse of fresh green space to an area currently consumed by parking lots and football fields.
Kjellgren Kaminsky Architects‘ New Heden project aims to establish a vital new community in an underutilized site. The development will house 10,000 people in 5000 new apartments and will provide commercial zones, sports facilities, and parks, reducing the distance that residents need to travel each day.
We love how the development rises up from the earth in a series of gently flowing hills, forming a lovely terrain laced with pathways and plenty of perfect spots for picnics. These green roofs provide excellent insulation to the buildings beneath while absorbing rain that can be purified and reused as household water. The project also includes plans for the local cultivation of fruits and vegetables, and after development the site will feature a much greater biomass than before.
Kjellgren Kaminsky Architects state: “With a unique identity of sustainable densification the new town block Heden creates a vision of a garden block that connects green space, healthy lifestyle and pleasant surroundings to a modern living atmosphere.”
+ Kjellgren Kaminsky Architects
Via Designboom
Looks like they would make great sled or ski hills.
From a practical consideration, I wonder what you do to keep kids/people from playing on the roof of the building and falling off? Instead of a gradual slope that meets the ground, perhaps a the roof ends in a sheer wall, 10+ feet off the ground, then only the most determined will climb it.