Europan 12 | Kristinehamn
RESPONSIVE SYSTEM emphasizes dynamic processes, resilience and adaptation through time, reactivating both cultural and ecological dynamics at the water’s edge, adapting to the fluctuations of the river and the lake. The project responds to a set of conditions – hydrological, urban, ecological – that characterize the city of Kristinehamn as it meets the river. Rather that proposing an isolated answer, the project identifies a system of urban voids that can be connected and activated within a responsive framework for ecological and urban change. The site becomes a fundamental point of implementation of design strategies, a dynamic filter for water that supports a wide range of urban programs. The transition from river to land is seen as a gradient from wet to dry, a gradient evident in time, movement, vegetation, and in changing depth.
The design integrates storm water management in the urban landscape, catalyzing ecological systems, environmental benefits and recreational qualities while maximizing permeability through the site, allowing for multiple access points, structuring new connections between the city and the port. Moving beyond engineering, RESPONSIVE SYSTEM envisions a blue and green framework that enhances public spaces at different scales, making water fluctuation and circulation clearly perceptible.
