Selux

Backa’s new urban con­cept com­bi­nes modern houses with exis­ting buil­dings erec­ted in Sweden during the Mil­lion Prog­ramme era of the 1960s. The draft for Selmas Park by the lands­cape arc­hi­tects’ bureau ÅWL Arki­tek­ter focus­sed on social sus­ta­ina­bi­lity and integ­ra­tion. The goal was to create a park lands­cape with a strong iden­tity, in which citi­zens can con­nect with one anot­her.

It is Backa’s his­tory as a garden suburb, which ins­pi­res the new Selmas Park. In the 19^th cen­tury, a series of farm­yards arose here and Backa became the garden of Gothenburg’s local eco­nomy, suppl­ying resi­dents with fruit, vege­tab­les and flo­wers. But what about the safety con­cept for a new gre­ens­pace desig­ned for rec­re­ati­onal use? ​“The chal­lenge was to pro­vide small, inti­mate places where the vari­ous users can inte­ract wit­hout this resul­ting in an unsafe envi­ron­ment,” exp­la­ins Lands­cape Arc­hi­tect Maja Fors­berg, who was res­pon­sible for the pro­ject at ÅWL Arc­hi­tects. Toget­her with light desig­ners from Light Bureau, a ligh­ting con­cept was deve­lo­ped that inc­re­ases the feeling of safety and sup­ports the location’s key focus – play and leisure acti­vi­ties.

(Felix Ger­lach)

The majo­rity of the park lands­cape is illu­mi­na­ted using white LED light, which ensu­res better recog­ni­tion of colo­urs and hence of faces. Colo­ured light pro­vi­des accent ligh­ting for the ent­rance area and playg­ro­und. As well as inc­re­asing the att­rac­ti­ve­ness of the site, it is desig­ned to enco­urage visi­tors to par­take in acti­vi­ties.

The main path thro­ugh the park is illu­mi­na­ted using Olivio lumi­na­ires on low poles. The illu­mi­na­ted pat­h­ways indi­cate their course wit­hout causing exces­sive scat­ter light, the­reby pro­vi­ding ori­en­ta­tion during dark­ness. Areas for leisure acti­vi­ties are lit using Olivio lumi­na­ires on higher poles to attain wider and more uni­form illu­mi­na­tion of these spaces while addi­ti­onal Olivio gobo spots are on hand to pro­vide artis­tic light pro­jec­ti­ons. Tar­ge­ted light set­tings of trees around the main square cre­ates an atmosp­he­ric ambi­ence – making for a sus­ta­inable and safe loca­tion brist­ling with life and action.