When planning a new development, redeveloping a water canal might sound like an unusual place to start. Broparken is a technical stormwater system, disguised as an attractive urban social space, transforming a characterless stretch of land into a much-loved public park.
Broparken is the first project in a new urban development, that prepares the ground for an emerging new neighbourhood. By starting with a park, ideal environmental conditions are considered at an early stage and as a result, flora and fauna are better equipped to thrive. The park invites community interaction by offering a diversity of welcoming, accessible outdoor green spaces and landscaped areas of stone and wood.
Client: Linköping kommun
Location: Linköping, Sweden
Status: Completed 2016
Area: 2 ha
Visuals: Ken Pils
A vibrant urban park, complete with a brook, meadows and fruit trees.
Collaborating with an ecologist specialising in limnology; the science of inland waters; a dual functioning ecological system was planned. Aquatic and land-based wildlife is supported, while simultaneously purifying rainwater run-off. When admiring Broparken’s signature red Tartubron – Tartu Bridge, there is little that gives away Broparken’s hidden identity as a technical stormwater system.
Robust vegetation and construction materials were chosen in order to sustain withstand the shifting water levels that can fluctuate more than one metre over a 24 hour period.
The red bridge over Smedstadsbäcken has become a symbol of Vallastaden. The bridge is designed to evoke a feeling of invitation. With red wood panels and expanded metal lining, Tartu Bridge resembles a red exclamation mark in the heart of the district.
Tartubron, a collaboration between White Arkitekter and artist Johan Kauppi. The bridge was a central attraction at the 2017 Vallastaden Housing Exhibition, Urban Living Expo.
Barbara Vogt
Johan Kauppi
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