Green Building Blocks: Sweden’s Pursuit of the World’s First Sustainable Wooden City
Photo by Atrium Ljungberg
The Pioneering Shift Towards a Low-Carbon Urban Future
In the quest for sustainable city design, Sweden has pushed boundaries by announcing its intention to develop an entire city made of wood by 2027. This innovation, planned in Stockholm, captures the essence of the modern urban development narrative, where rapid city growth is harmonised with environmental sustainability.
Redefining the Urban Fabric
With plans to commence construction in 2025 and expecting to install the first buildings by 2027, urban development company Atrium Ljungberg’s endeavour is more than just an architectural feat; it’s a resounding statement on the future of urban development. The project uses timber to tackle environmental challenges, transforming the Swedish capital into a global exemplar of sustainable urban planning. Timber, often underestimated as a construction material (as I’ve already discussed here), emits far less carbon than steel and concrete and also releases fewer pollutants - a key attribute in maintaining the city’s air quality.
Building a Wooden Oasis
The project plans to cover an area of 250,000 square metres, encompassing 7,000 office spaces and 2,000 homes in Sickla. This urban oasis won’t just house workplaces and residences; it will also welcome restaurants and shops, fostering a harmonious co-existence of work, play, and lifestyle elements.
Meeting Global Climate Goals
This initiative aligns with the global push towards reducing carbon emissions from the built environment, which contributes to almost 40% of the world’s CO2 emissions. Stockholm Wood City echoes the sentiments of the New European Bauhaus, an initiative championed by the European Commission in 2020, which aspires to infuse the European Green Deal into our living spaces and experiences.
A Boon to Stockholm’s Workplace Deficit
Beyond environmental benefits, Stockholm Wood City is primed to answer the city’s urgent need for office spaces, addressing a critical shortfall in the inner city. The project’s focus on self-produced, stored, and shared energy will add another feather to its sustainability cap, cementing Stockholm’s reputation as a green city.
Leading by Example
Atrium Ljungberg’s CEO, Annica Ånäs, captures the essence of the project, “We want to create an environment where our customers, those who will live and work here, can participate in the development and design of the city district of the future.” We’ve seen similar human-focused, timber developments across the world, such as these planned skyscrapers in Australia, and these sustainability-focused airports. Developments like these excite me; the (timber) world is our oyster, and to quote this article: “you can’t grow concrete!”.
A Global Trend Towards Wood
As mentioned above, Stockholm Wood City is part of a global trend, as we also see with Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University’s recent construction of the largest wooden building in Asia. These sustainable developments are rewriting the narrative of urban planning, setting the stage for a global transition towards eco-conscious cities.
I can’t wait to see what’s next on the road to sustainable development by leading global cities!
