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"The five trumpet-blasts" under construction in 1964.

The redevelopment of Norrmalm (Swedish: Norrmalmsregleringen; lit. 'the Norrmalm regulation') was a major revision of the city plan for lower Norrmalm district in Stockholm, Sweden, which was principally decided by the Stockholm town council in 1945, and realised during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The renewal resulted in most of the old Klara quarters being replaced for the modern city of Stockholm, according to rigorist CBD ideas, while the Stockholm Metro was facilitated through the city. As a result of the project, over 700 buildings were demolished to make way for new infrastructure and redevelopment.[1]

The renewal of Norrmalm was the largest Swedish urban development project to date and engaged a large part of Sweden's architectural élite. The Norrmalm renewal has been criticised and admired throughout Sweden and internationally, and is regarded as one of the larger and most full-of-character of all city renewals in Europe in the aftermath of World War II, even including the cities that were severely damaged during the war.[2] Key politicians behind the massive urban renewal project included Yngve Larsson and Hjalmar Mehr.

Historical background

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Tanken på en revision av Norrmalms stadsplan och en förlängning av Sveavägen över Brunkebergsåsen söderut från Kungsgatan hade funnits och diskuterats långt innan Norrmalmsregleringen beslutades

Fleming's grid plan (17th century)

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Norrmaln's first grid plan was created during the 17th century by the governor Clas Larsson Fleming.[3][4] The city plan was created because of Stockholm's rapid expansion as the capital of the Swedish Empire. In 1634 Olof Hansson Örnehufvud, quartermaster general, was tasked by the government to make the streets of Norrmalm wider. This task was completed in a few decades.[5]

Tessin's Sveavägen boulevard (18th century)

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Nicodemus Tessin the Younger proposed a city plan to lengthen and widen Sveavägen into a boulevard down to Gustav Adolfs torg. However, it is not true, although it is often claimed, that Gustav III planned for Haga Palace to be at the end of Sveavägen and that it would have been expanded down to Norrbro and Stockholm Palace.[6][7]

Under 1700-talet, eller frihetstiden, försköts stadens centrum alltmer till Norrmalm, där många av tidens ståtliga palats och institutionsbyggnader uppfördes

The city centre moved more towards Norrmalm during the Age of Liberty

Lindhagen's 1866 city plan

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Lindhagen's 1886 city plan for Norrmalm and Kungsholmen.

In 1866 a city plan commission led by Albert Lindhagen proposed a new general plan in order to provide more air, light and greenery. The commission proposed a grid plan that was surrounded and crossed by great boulevards. The commission was inspired by Haussmann's ongoing renovation of Paris and Saint Petersburg.[8][9] The commission wanted to rebuild Sveavägen into a 70 metre wide boulevard similar to Boulevard de Sébastopol and Unter den Linden.[10] The boulevard would have stretched from Brunnsviken to Gustav Adolfs torg, without taking any buildings or the terrain into consideration, right over Adolf Fredrik Church, Hötorget and Brunkebergstorg. East-west axis I öst-västlig riktning föreslogs en förbindelse mellan Lidingöbro och Traneberg.[11]

Lindhagen's plan was never adopted by the city council and only parts were implemented after protests and revisions in the 1870s and 1880s.[12] Sveavägen was rebuilt into a 33 metre wide main road, moved to the east in order to spare the church, and only lengthened one city block past Kungsgatan.[13][14]

1912 city plan

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Sveavägen's planned route proposed by Hallman.

The debate about expanding Sveavägen, as proposed by Lindhagen, continued during the 1910s. In 1912 the newly appointed city-planning superintendent (stadsplanedirektör) Per Olof Hallman proposed in a new city plan that Sveavägen should be expanded down to Hamngatan. This expansion would only be 18 metres wide due to the municipality's finances.[15] South of Mäster Samuelsgata the road would branch and form a small six-sided city block in the middle called Hoven. This planned route was drawn in Stockholm's official maps from the 1920s to the 1940s.

The 1912 city plan never materialized, but when Sveavägen was eventually lengthened it largely followed Hallman's proposal, except for the branch.[16]

Background

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Reasons for redevelopment

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Stor enighet fanns om att en reglering och modernisering av Nedre Norrmalm började bli akut. Behoven var huvudsakligen:[17]

  • Infrastructure: City planners pointed out that the infrastructure of Stockholm's inner city was not fit for a rapidly growing population. The expansion of the metro required extensive demolition in Klara and was a deciding factor in the decision. Increasing traffic required bigger roads and improved safety for pedestrians.
  • Urban renewal: Klara was considered by some to be a slum. Housing was mainly built before 1900 and often outdated. The apartments were small and lacked bathrooms. The streets and courtyards were small and seen as a cause of dark and unhygenic housing and workplaces.
  • Forming of a city centre: The city deemed it necesserary to create a central business district.

Lilienberg's 1928 general plan

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Hallman was not reappointed when his five year mandate as city-planning superintendent ran out in 1927. The newly appointed superintendent Albert Lilienberg proposed in 1928 a new general plan. The plan proposed lengthening Sveavägen from Hamnatan to Gustav Adolfs Torg, similarly to the older plans by Lindhagen and Tessin. This proposal was the start of the debate leading to the 1945 redevelopment decision.[17]

The general plan would not be adopted with a small voting majority in the city council. A major opponent of the plan was municipal commissioner and liberal politican Yngve Larsson.[18]

International city plan competition

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In 1932 the City of Stockholm started a international city planning competition ahead of the redevlelopment of Norrmaln. The competition got 350 submissions from, among others, several great architects of the time, including Le Corbusier and Alvar Aalto's submission which would have demolishing big parts of downtown in favour of high-rise development. The German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School Walter Gropius, who were close friends with Sven Markelius, asked for information about the competiton but did not submit any proposals.[19] The architect Sigurd Lewerentz participated in the competition but his submission did not get much attention. [20]

Guidelines for Stockholm's general plan

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Redevelopment

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The City of Stockholm had already acquired many properties for an extension of Sveavägen to Hamngatan. A new law, Lex Norrmalm [sv], was passed in 1953 by the Riksdag[21] and made it easier for the city to expropriate properties when a plan was being considered but before it was implemented.[22]

The redevelopment actually began in the 1950s because of the expansion of the metro. The metro was built with cut-and-cover tunnel straight through Brunkebergsåsen.

Stadsförnyelsens huvudaktör på 1950-talet var borgarrådet Helge Berglund. På 1960- och 70-talen var borgarrådet Hjalmar Mehr (s) starkt pådrivande i omdaningsprocessen.

Planning

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The architect in charge of planning was Sven Markelius. Markelius was chief of the policy department of Byggnadstyrelsen [sv] and later city-planning superintendent between 1944 to 1954, succeding the retired Albert Lilienberg.

Planning work for lower Norrmalm begun in 1945. Markelius established a dedicated 'Norrmalm Office' on Malmskillnadsgatan. Therem Narejkuys brought together a new team of architects, traffic engineers and other specialists, including architect David Helldén [sv], who took on the task of designing the redevelopment.[23] Paul Hedqvist's proposed plan from 1939 served as the foundation for the redevelopment. David Helldén presented the Town-Building Office's for Sveaplatsen (today's Sergels Torg) and Hötorgscity. The plan already included the Hötorget buildings.[24]

Demolition

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According to reports, over 700 buildings were demolished in Klara.[25] Demolition begun in march 1952 in

The old telephone tower

Phase 1

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Phase 2

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Criticism

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Norrmalm today

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References

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Notes

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Printed sources

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