Helix

designed by Nivå Landskapsarkitektur /

Location: Sweden / Type: Corporate/Company Garden / Hospital Park / Parks / Residential Parks / Built: 2012 /
Published on November 2, 2015

Nivå Landskapsarkitektur: The site is a fairly steep hill in Södertörn, south of Stockholm. An aspen covered north-facing slope with moraine and atop a forest with knotty pine. A world of its own on the hill, still commonplace and familiar. Long vistas of the landscape create a visual contact with the institutional buildings of Huddinge hospital in the north and Södertörn University and the district court, police station and high rise housing in the southeast. Helix, the new Forensic Psychiatric Clinic will form its own secluded world on the site, still in contact with both the institutional and civil world.

Early in the process, visits to the clinic and meetings with the staff gave an insight into a world where everyday life and the simplest of routines is the core of the rehabilitation: regularity, seasonal changes, circadian rhythm and clear spatial structures. A smoke break on the patio or a walk in the woods. The design came from the site’s own materials and its spatial conditions. The fundamental stance was the use and reuse of local materials. Early on we realized that the site’s hilly terrain would result in comprehensive rock blasting. The idea of an artistic modelling of the torn rocks and rough shafts was born, and the artist Lars Treadge was brought in to the project to form the cuts in the landscape. Crushed rock from the site was reused in friezes and paving patterns. Pine and fir trees were replanted in damaged parts of the terrain. Bark chips were laid out on the trails in the rocky forest. Patios and deckings were created from oiled wood. Young pine trees were preserved to eventually replace the felled trees.

Now the closed world of top of the mountain is in place, and the daily routines have started. The wounds in the ground from excavation and construction work are beginning to heal. The young pine trees stretches towards the sky. Lingonberry, moss and lichens slowly recover bare rocks. The wall is in place, protective and embracing. Pines stand astonishingly beautiful against the concrete. From a viewing platform there is a long vista towards the horizon, through the stone frame created by artists Hanna Stahle and Mårten Medbo; a modern claude glass.

Project name: Helix
Landscape Architect: Nivå Landskapsarkitektur
Client: Locum
Artist: Hanna Stahle och Mårten Medbo samt Lars Treadge
Lighting: EnergoRethea
Contractor: NCC
Years: 2008-2012
Area: 50000m2
Location: Flemingsberg, Huddinge
Opened: 2012
Photographs: Anders Tessing and Max Plunger