Lund Cathedral is a major landowner in Lund and Skåne and the church is a significant player in the property market. To the north-east of Lund, in Brunnshög, they own 25 acres of land where they want to see sustainable housing in the future. They took an unusual approach.
When the urban development project commenced in 2012, a number of challenges were listed. The foremost were:
- How can a residential area balance the needs of people and the environment?
- How can a public space contribute to fostering pride, a sense of belonging, and an appreciation of beauty?
The Cathedral Council drew up a shortlist of architects who had earned international acclaim. According to Brendeland & Kristoffersen, they were contacted ‘out of the blue’. In the process that would follow, the client approached the collaboration with an open mind.
Reused bricks from a jam factory
The architects proposed the gardens concept, which has now been realised. They struck up a partnership with a leading engineering design company, Price & Myers in the UK, as well as a local contractor who was able to build in riveted Corten steel.
They were also able to recruit the services of a local masonry contractor who normally works on the restoration of the cathedral. The bricklayers put up a wall around the gardens, an area of some 40 metres square, reusing bricks from an old jam factory.
The urban space is designed as an oasis in the future residential area. It has a reflecting pool and covered seats and tables. It is an area for meetings, conversations, picnics, rest and contemplation.
The architects praise Lund Cathedral for having given them sufficient time to develop something completely new, a real innovation: ‘A unique situation in architectural practice’.
The gardens were opened in the autumn of 2021. The first residents will not be moving in till 2025.
A breathing space for the future
The garden hosts a programme of participatory events and has become a popular place to visit. The Cathedral refers to the place as a green lung, a breathing space, and an open and generous garden for future residents and visitors.
The project has also won acclaim and significant influence in professional circles. It has received Lund municipality’s urban design award for 2022 and it was one of five finalists for the European Prize for Urban Public Space.
Public spaces are often ‘overdesigned’, which puts a constraint on their use. Gardens are based on an open and inclusive strategy that can deal with change without the need for demolition.
Brief facts about the project
Hage: Public gardens, as the first phase of an urban development in Brunnshög near Lund, Sweden
By: Brendeland & Kristoffersen Architects and Lund Cathedral
Design disciplines: Architecture, Urban space development, Landscape architecture
Recipient of the DOGA Award
This project has received the DOGA Award for Design and Architecture for its outstanding qualities and for showing how strategic use of design and architecture creates important social, environmental, and economic value.
These are three reasons why this is an exemplary project:
- Community first
Urban developments are largely driven by houses for sale and offices to let. However, gardens are sustainable urban developments that prioritise communal spaces.
- A space for many things
Gardens provide a space for everything from calm meditation to activities, events and play – for everyone, irrespective of age, background or level of ability.
- Timeless design
Durability is the common denominator for the chosen building techniques, materials and detailing. Bricks have been reused, and all materials have been utilised judiciously and economically.
