BRF SMEDJAN
Tredje Långgatan is characterized by a varied urban block structure, with a wide range of building volumes from low to high. Remnants of small-scale industrial buildings coexist with robust brick structures and plaster façades from the decades around the turn of the last century. The buildings meet the street with rough-hewn natural stone bases or rusticated ground floors. The courtyard façades are marked by light-colored plaster surfaces with darker window frames.
The property originally housed a blacksmith’s workshop built in 1902 by Olof Anton Möller. The development consisted of the workshop building itself, located in the middle of the courtyard (built in 1902), and a representative false front façade facing the street. Behind the façade, under the roof, storage spaces and an office were created, but much of the building remained a hollow shell. The two buildings were connected by a glass roof that covered the courtyard, which functioned as part of the workshop. Both buildings had fallen into serious disrepair, and of the glass roof that once covered the courtyard, only a rusty steel frame remained, partially collapsed. The courtyard building’s façades and interior had been thoroughly altered and lacked any traces of historical detailing, and were therefore deemed of no cultural value in the heritage assessment that preceded the zoning plan. The 2017 zoning plan instead allows for new construction in the courtyard and mandates the preservation of the street façade of the building originally constructed as a false stage façade. The main architectural challenge of the project was thus to weave together the historical layers of the site with a contemporary zoning plan, an industrial building method, and dignified urban architecture.
The Courtyard Building
The design of the new courtyard building is based on a desire to create high-quality housing using materials that are rooted in the site and age with dignity. The façade is clad flamed granite, harmonizing with the rough-hewn stone bases that characterize the block. The façade is organized according to a classical tectonic order, giving the building volume a sense of calm and cohesive expression. By anchoring the façade with load-bearing and supported elements, it becomes legible and attains a human scale that relates to the history of Western architecture. To provide the façade with an urban character and protect the already limited courtyard space from further encroachment, we decided early in the project to avoid balconies. Instead, the façade is fitted with motorized vertical sliding windows from floor to ceiling, allowing each apartment’s façade to transform into a balcony in a natural way, giving the building a distinctive openness. The regular stone façade lends the building weight and dignity, allowing the volume to settle seamlessly into the surrounding stone city.
The floor plan is organized in layers, with stairwells in the darker core and apartments stretching out toward the light. The apartments follow the same principle, with spaces that do not require direct daylight—such as hallways and bathrooms—located deep within the building, while living spaces occupy the brighter areas closest to the façade. Large glass sections let in generous amounts of daylight, enabling bright and airy apartments even on the north-facing side.
The Gatehouse
The existing building facing the street, which previously functioned as the office part of the old smithy, is handled with care. The street façade is restored in collaboration with a building conservator to approximate its original appearance as closely as possible. Since the building was originally constructed as a false stage façade, it never had an original rear façade facing the courtyard. Instead, the new courtyard façade takes its cues from the façade of the old workshop that once stood in the yard, featuring small-pane windows in dark tones and a lime-washed brick wall with pilasters and a cornice.
The building is repurposed to house four smaller urban townhouses, thus creating a unique typology within the cityscape of Linnéstan. Each townhouse has its own patio facing the courtyard and associated social spaces on the ground floor. The residential units are distributed over two main floors and two mezzanines/half-floors, giving the spatial configuration a dynamic and exciting layout with smart extra spaces.
