Rediscovering Malmö

My name is Atle Heidarsson and I'm a student at Malmö University, Sweden. This summer I will be taking the course "Imagining Malmö" in which I will analyze the urban qualities in the city of Malmö. This blog will be dedicated to my photographs, thoughts and ideas during the course. Although I've lived here for two years, I'm convinced this course will give me a brand new look on the city and a chance to rediscover Malmö.

[a-heidarsson]

This is going to take a looong time.

[a-heidarsson]

Louisiana.

I’m going to be honest: I don’t really get art. Of course I can appreciate artwork with nice colors, structures, motives and so, but it’s the deeper meanings I never really get. No matter how much I stare at that blue dot in the corner of a slightly lighter blue painted canvas I never see the thoughts behind it. One day maybe.

But what I loved about Louisiana was the building itself. It was my first time visiting and I had heard so many good things about it. In my head I imagined a huge, modern glass and concrete building or something similar. I guess I had this image because it usually feels like museums of modern arts are supposed to be pompous artworks in themselves. Impressive structures of huge scales and exceeded budgets. But Louisiana was not like that at all, it was a lot more subtle actually.

When arriving we walked across this long car park leading right up to the entrance. Not a very pompous introduction so far. The very first building of the museum I see is this old, classic wooden house which completely changed my image of what the place would be like. As I progressed through the museum the style shifted into a more 60′s architectural style. However, the architecture never seemed to want to impress me, it was only supposed to create neutral environments to make the artworks stand out in the best way. Simple designs, white walls, little decoration (aside from the artworks of course), and a lot of focus on bringing nature inside through the use of windows.The architects must have cared a lot for the art and not want to overshadow it with their building.

The subtility of the museum made it beautiful in a different way, I think. It felt like it co-existed a lot better with the art and surrounding nature since it never had intended to outshine them in the first place.

Okay, maybe I get art. Architecural art in that case. The other forms? Not as much maybe...

[a-heidarsson]

I’m thinking of creating an imaginative city for my map project. I’ve always liked city maps and can spend a lot of time just looking at them, zooming in and out and seeing how different places are located and connected. I would try to base the structure of my city on the information we’ve gotten during the lectures about sustainability but also the urban qualities Jane Jacob’s criticizes in her articles.

I’m thinking of making one main map with the general appearance of the city with land, sea, built environments, natural environments, roads and so. Then I’ll make a few others showing things like important places and connections, public transport routes, height differences in the terrain etc. 

I will try to make my map completely out of my imagination but I’m pretty sure I will borrow a few ideas from real cities such as Malmö, Gothenburg and Copenhagen. It is a way of showing what urban qualities I appreciate in these cities while also showing what I think is missing in them.

I’m pretty sure it’s easier said than done to cram all the sustainable factors into this map but I think it will be a fun challenge. 

[a-heidarsson]

I went for a long bike ride a few days ago. I followed the three kilometer long path along the Ribergsborg beach and snapped a few photos. Although Malmö’s skyline might not be the most spectacular compared to others in the world I still think its composition with the Turning Torso, Western Harbour and the central districts along with the curved coast of the beach is really beautiful. There are even better views of this composition but I didn’t think of taking one back then. I guess if you just search for Malmö on Google images you will find the angle I’m talking about, the angle that Malmö generally advertises itself with.

At the opposite end of the beach I stumbled upon this development area. Parts of it were finished already, like the houses on the picture, while other still were nothing more than a hole in the ground. 

Places like this make me sigh. All the houses look the same, like the builders just copied and pasted one house design all over one the area. Of course Malmö is in need of more residential houses and apartments but is it really that difficult to vary the designs and structures? In the Western Harbour, central districts and Möllevången there are distinct features that make each area unique and memorable. I associate each area with a certain atmosphere so when I feel like experiencing a certain urban aspect I know where to go. 

But in areas like the development area I talked about there is nothing that sticks to my mind, nothing memorable and no atmosphere I’d want to experience again. Could that be the reason for the area’s uninviting impression? Is it supposed to only be for the ones living there and repel those who don’t?  Or does the architecture follow some sort of norm of not standing out from the crowd?

Whatever the reason is, I think it’s such a waste to make a place that is so close to the sea - and thereby a sought-after place to the public - so uninviting. Well, the lots the closest to the water haven’t been built yet so there’s still hope that something that is for everyone will be built.

[a-heidarsson]

Memory is redundant: it repeats signs so that the city can begin to exist.

From Italo Calvino’s “Invisible Cities”.

I felt like this quote would be of use in the future so I just wanted to write it down for myself.

[a-heidarsson]

While on the topic of maps and how biased they can be, a friend of mine just uploaded this map of Sweden on Facebook. Really trying to figure out where the creator is from.

[a-heidarsson]

Thoughts on ‘Walking in the city’

Once I managed to decrypt the message of this brutally academic article I realized how familiar the topic was. Truth is, it’s a lot about what my program is about. The discussion De Certeau brings up about loking down at a city from above versus the experience of actually being down on the ground level is the same discussion we frequently have in class. We’re critical to the fact that a lot of architects plan urban developments by simply looking down at city - either on a map or literally from a skyscraper - and plan things from the obvious structures they can see from above. When they detach themselves from the actual life that is taking place down on the ground they might not understand the reasons to why the city looks like it does. 

Just to prove the difference between these two ways of seeing the city I made a comparison of this situation using the Möllevången square here in Malmö. Although most people in Malmö would know what kind of urban life that takes place here I still think it shows one of the best contrasts between looking down at a city and being down on street level.

The left picture is taken from Google Maps while the second one is taken on ground-level during market hours. I’ve been to the market on this square plenty of times and I can say that the atmosphere is pretty amazing. However, the view from above doesn’t catch this atmosphere. You could make out the roofs of the tents and maybe associate them with markets, but that is not enough to understand the actual life that takes place here. 

Luckily Möllevången is not threatened by any drastic urban changes in the near future since it’s already such a beloved place. However, we’ve learned that there have been many cases where architects simply have looked at a map and made a few lines with a pen which then would be realized into a building - all without having the faintest clue what kind of life that takes place on the streets the map represents. The result has usually been that the buildings feel misplaced and out of context.

I just can’t understand how architects can forget such an essential thing as getting to know the area they want to develop before planning it. It’s partly because of this issue that my program was created and I hope I will become an urban developer that really knows what is the best for the city.

[a-heidarsson]

(Not my pictures.)

I really like how Malmö embraces the fact that it’s a bike-friendly town. Not only by building so many roads specifically for bicycles but also because of the emphasis it puts on the bike stands, like the ones on the pictures above. I especially like the ones designed like cars because they really prove how many bikes you can park in just one parking lot. The fact that they are placed on actual parking lot spaces - so that less cars are able to park in town while even more bikes can - makes the whole thing even better. Malmö is striving to become the most environmentally friendly city in Sweden and I think this is just the right way to shine with it. 

[a-heidarsson]

(Not my picture.)

A few days ago I got the question about what my favorite place in Malmö is. I think I mentioned a few but I’m surprised I forgot about this one.

In the northern part of the Western Harbour there is a place called Ljudgropen, which could be translated into “the sound pit”. It’s an artificial, circular hill with speakers installed into the slopes. The speakers usually play calm classical music but sometimes pieces of other genres. The hill is designed so that you can only hear the music if you’re within its bounds which enhances the feeling of it being a room of its own (as well as not bothering the neighbors).

While I think this hill is a great place to hang out I think what I like the most about it is how it really feels made for the people. One of the main ideas of the program I’m studying at Malmö university is to always develop urban areas for the people who are going to use it. Some architects have a tendency to plan new areas based on what they think the people want and need, which usually result in architecture that isn’t used like they intended. It is usually the result of the architects not doing their research right. But in the case with Ljudgropen it feels like the architects have understood how people hang out in public spaces and how they could enhance that experience. 

[a-heidarsson]

Currently sitting on a train towards Helsingborg together with a friend to celebrate midsummer. Usually I have music blasting in my ear wherever I go but of course that'd be rude to my friend so for once I pay attention towards the sounds around me. It makes me think of something the American students in the course have said: swedes are pretty quiet. Despite being fairly full, the audio level in my wagon is really low and I've caught myself almost whispering when having a conversation with my friend right next to me. Am I nervous about other people hearing what I'm saying or do I just not want to disturb them? The other people seem to feel the same, it also sounds like they're whispering to each other and I can barely hear them. The only ones who could be considered loud in here are the kids. They’re laughing, crying, calling for their parents and running back and forth in the aisle between the seats. I guess I was like that as a kid too, but now I'm an adult who has learned to follow the Swedish, quiet, norm and I guess they will too. I'm just wondering at what point in life kids start to understand these patterns and why they start following them. Sometimes I kind of wish adults could be a bit more like the kids and maybe not feeling so ashamed of being "loud" . Ironically enough, the train back home tonight will probably be a whole lot louder. Since holidays like midsummer give the swedes a reason to drink the midnight train will certainly be filled with drunk people, chatting, laughing and crying just as loud as the kids. Suddenly everyone will become friends and talk about their lives, just to forget their newly forged bonds by the following morning.

[a-heidarsson]

Week 1 - written assignment

I have always liked Malmö. As my extended family lives here, I’ve visited the town every other year ever since I was a kid. The atmosphere here is so different compared to other Swedish cities. I’m sure it has a lot to do with the city being so close to the rest of Europe, which almost makes it feel like you’re abroad yourself. The grocery markets on the public squares, the wide selection of international restaurants and of course the people of all cultures. Other places in Swedish don’t really compare.

As I grew older and my interest in architecture blossomed I suddenly saw this city with new eyes during a visit in 2012. I hadn’t thought about it before but I realized that Malmö is a lot more innovative and daring when it comes to modern building designs. You see, Gothenburg - my hometown - is fairly conservative when it comes to architecture, I think. It feels like architects aren’t allowed to stand out with their buildings. As soon as an architect proposes something that’s a bit more “bold” citizens start complaining and won’t stop until the design has been altered into another boring, white box of maximum three levels. But in Malmö I saw houses I couldn’t even imagine seeing in Gothenburg.

At the same time I was amazed at how well this town preserved its older areas and even combine them with newer buildings. I could literally walk from a picturesque street with old and colorful wooden houses to a beach promenade aligned with modern apartments in just a few minutes. I can’t think of a place in Gothenburg where I can do that.

As I was brought up in the architecturally conservative Gothenburg I think I was deluded that Swedish cities in general couldn’t develop in nice, contemporary ways. I thought that was the norm of the country. I guess that’s why Malmö made such an impact on me, why I all of a sudden really fell in love with the city. During that visit in 2012 I decided that I wanted to move to Malmö one day, and not even a year later I had found and got accepted into the perfect university program for me in this very city. Two years later and I still feel perfectly at home.

 (And P.S. Gothenburg IS actually starting to get over its fear of modern architecture and bold designs. Guess which Swedish city that has proposed a new skyscraper to beat Malmö’s Turning Torso?)

[a-heidarsson]

Old buildings don’t have to be demolished to make space for new ones. There are several examples in Malmö where old and modern can co-exist and even complement each other.