blocks with an enclosed and sometimes well-de-signed garden but surrounded by streets and traf-fic. In the garden city, outdoor environments were cohesive, following ideas of “house in the park”
- from front doors through the gardens and the garden paths to the parks and schools, daycare centres and other amenities. It would be impossi-ble to see boundaries between what was residential estates and what was parks, streets and cycle paths.
Hundreds of areas like this were built across Swe-den and still provide some of the best outdoor en-vironments, context and residential environments.
Augustenborg is one of Malmö’s best examples of functionalism. Ideas of light and air characterise the buildings, which have a clean and functional design. The outdoor environment was designed in a similar spirit, with large open lawns, beautiful limestone stonework, gravel paths and a variety of plants in the form of free-growing flowering shrubs, perennials and proud solitary trees. The outdoor environment was an important part of a larger puzzle, and one of the driving forces behind the hope of creating strong social lives.
The gardens provided plenty of space for gath-erings, play and other functions. The design, con-struction and care of the outdoor environment were rooted in a competent and considered tra-dition, which ensured beautification, attention to detail and good craftsmanship.
The park (located in the southern part of the area, see map page 296) was large, contained much greenery, was attractive with combined uses and was easily accessible. The area was meant to be a piece of recreational nature, albeit stylised. Some old trees were preserved from the old farmland, partly to anchor the area in its history, but mainly to provide large and welcoming greenery. New trees were planted to complement the existing stock.
The square carried a high symbolic value as a centre for the entire district and showed great am-bition in terms of design and materials. It was to provide a varied range of amenities, including gro-ceries, hairdressers, post office, bakery and laun-dry around a shared communal space. Its design
would support both shorter and longer social in-teractions, in accordance with the neighbourhood concept.
The street has a soft curve as it runs through a park landscape with no clear boundary between street space, gardens and park. Cars were still rare, meaning the road was not seen as ugly or dan-gerous, but was the unifying spine of the district backbone.
The 1940s landscape architects and other de-signers of residential environments worked to a se-ries of basic qualities. They can be summarised as (see Persson & Persson, 1995, for a more in-depth description):
• the spatial dimension
• the (non)division of functions
• the vegetation
Birger Myllenberg designed Augustenborg’s gardens. His basic principles and design were characterised by the ideals of the time, and how basic qualities were handled. But at the same time, Myllenberg's design has features that are clearly more continental - a design form that is heavily represented in Malmö and contrasts with what is sometimes called Nordic romantic functionalism (Nowotny & Persson, 1988), a more naturalis-tic and softer style that was applied pretty much everywhere else in Sweden at the time. Birger Myl-lenberg’s 1950 drawings for Augustenborg lists, among other things, instructions on what to build and plant. The gardens are designed somewhat dif-ferently but follow the same basic concept. Ana-lysing his design (see Figure 1) for what was then known as the Arla block (now Sommaren 2), and three gardens at Augustenborgsvägen 21-25 and Södra Grängesbergsgatan 44-46, reveals the build-ing blocks used to create the good garden envi-ronments.
Two of the gardens we looked at are surrounded by buildings (but with openings to the northwest, southwest and southeast) with building entrances on the west and south sides. They have straight pavements and narrow flower beds along the
fa-Bengt Persson,
Ann-Sofi Högborg, Anders Folkesson Bengt Persson, PhD, landscape architect with a focus on the history of 20th century residential gardens. He was a co-author of Svenska bostadsgårdar 1930-1959 (Swedish Residential Gardens, 1930-1959).
Ann-Sofi Högborg, landscape architect, Svenska Landskap AB. Her company worked on the project to regenerate the garden environments in Augustenborg between 1999 and 2001 .
Anders Folkesson, landscape architect. Formerly ran Mellanrum AB together with colleague Christer Göransson.
Mellanrum was responsible for the project to design Augustenborg’s blue-green infrastructure between 1997 and 2001.
cades to provide an efficient entrance and economy zone. The eastern and northern sides of the gar-dens have no entrances, making them calmer and more accessible for people who want to sit there, while they also get more sunlight. The third, west-ern, courtyard has virtually no entrances, and has a more park-like shape in a nice western location.
A Spatial dimension is provided on a small scale by shaping the areas into so-called sunken gardens, which are slightly indented in the land-scape, with a clear 30 to 40 centimetre slope. The three-storey houses provide the main spatial frame, but the edges are softened somewhat by the large trees in the southern and northern ends of the gar-dens. But Birger Myllenberg’s design did not in-clude large trees between buildings as we are used to seeing today. He only suggested the occasional medium-sized ornamental tree such as hawthorn or flowering apple or some large shrub such as
la-burnum. In one place there is a bird cherry that can become a large tree but does not remain today.
Instead, he left a large open and spacious garden throughout the central area. It is possible he con-sidered the gardens too cramped to house large trees without encroaching on the free space and the open courtyards which were typical of gardens at the time. Where space allowed, the large trees were a way to create a soft and flexible spatiality and downplay the dominance of the residential buildings. Without larger trees in the gardens, they probably felt a little too open, close to being bare.
The functional integration (or non-division) of Birger Myllenberg’s proposal is a little simpler than was customary at this time in Sweden. The gardens’
main areas are large contiguous lawns, and the two gardens with entrances on their west sides, have a sandpit and seating at the top of the northeastern corner, where the sun shines most. It is mainly there
for parents and young children and not for adults without children. The spaciousness and garden character have been reinforced with a small lime-stone wall to replace the soft lawn which makes up the rest of the garden. The sandpit and seating area are not separated from the rest of the garden by more than one or two groups of three bushes each.
It is otherwise spatially and functionally connected to the rest of the garden. At the southern end there is a larger sandpit, and the eastern yard has yet an-other sandpit. These play areas are surrounded by narrow hedges on the south and west sides but are not cut off from the open garden to the north. In the western garden, where there are no entrances, Birger Myllenberg has designed a small stage-like seating area and a small sandpit with a limestone wall. This is not an example of functional integra-tion, but a nice part of the garden.
The vegetation in Birger Myllenberg’s drawings is also a little sparse compared to other prominent landscape architects of the time. In the book Sven-ska Bostadsgårdar 1930-59 (Persson & Persson, 1995) there is a model of the green building blocks
that were used to plan residential buildings, see Figure 2. Several of these building blocks are found in Birger Myllenberg’s drawings for the gardens we studied. But they are not particularly varied, and some do not exist at all, such as beds of perenni-als and flowers. The most common are narrow shrubbery along the house facades and in part by the large sandy areas. There are also solitary bush-es and some small groups of ornamental shrubs.
Large trees are found in short rows or small groups.
Solitary ornamental trees are found in some places.
1997: The outdoor environment after 50 years – a snapshot before the transformation to Eco-city
Augustenborg was in 1997 on the threshold of a great renewal that would transform it into an Eco-city. By then, nearly 50 years had passed since the area was built. A lot can happen in a residential area during half a century. Some people move to other areas, while new people move in. People age and die, but new inhabitants are also born and grow up in the area. Apartments are gutted and renovated, new needs spark change in the physical environment.
Fifty years is also enough time for social ideas to change. By the end of the 1950s and start of the 1960s, efforts to solve the housing shortage had increasingly crassly changed what was seen as an acceptable living environment. Amid rational as-pirations, ideas of well-being, aesthetics and crafts-manship had to take a step back.
During the 1960s, the ideas that underpinned traffic planning also changed. The very rapid in-crease in car numbers caused congestion and ac-cidents and solutions to minimise negative con-sequences were needed. Traffic separation became common, as cars were completely separated from pedestrians and bicycle traffic. In this context it became common to feed cars into a residential area through a few dead ends, instead of allowing them to drive through the area.
The street spaces in Augustenborg changed - probably during the late 1970s - to some extent
Figure 1. Drawing based on Birger Myllenberg’s plan from 1950 for the then Arla block (now Sommaren 2) which stretched between Augustenborgsvägen 21-25 and Södra Grängesbergsgatan 44-46.
Illustration by Ingrid Kristensson/Edge
Figure 2. The green building blocks from Persson & Persson, 1995 The big trees
- on lawn/gravel • solitary • in groups • in rows - in shrubbery Ornamental trees - on lawn/gravel • solitary • in groups • in stands - in shrubbery Shrubs - solitary - in narrow plantings • free growing • wedged - in groups (shrubbery) Perennials - flower beds • by bushes • on lawns • along facades Ornamental roses - flower beds • on lawns • along facades
in line with these new ideas. Elevated intersections were introduced in places where footpaths crossed Augustensborgsgatan and Södra Grängesbergsga-tan. These intersections were paved with so-called SF stone, a vehicle-bearing concrete stone that was popular in the 1970s. At the central square, Augustenborgstorget, the driving surface at these intersections was narrowed by plant boxes and bollards.
The alterations in Augustenborg’s street space clearly illustrate how improvement efforts can in-directly change the visual and architectural char-acter of an area, and impact how it is experienced.
Traffic was probably made safer, but the street was also cut off from the outdoor environment in gen-eral, from having previously run as an integrated element in a park landscape.
Many improvement efforts have similarly im-pacted the character of the residential buildings in Augustenborg. When external facade insulation was installed in the area - as a consequence of the oil and energy crisis in the 1970s - corrugated sheet metal became the dominating sight, replacing the coloured render. When mechanical snowploughs gradually replaced hand shovels, the rough but characteristic limestone slabs were replaced with asphalt, to ensure the plough did not get stuck on the ground. Once it became necessary to renew or supplement storage buildings, timber, play equip-ment among other things, the modern materials of the time took their place, such as pressure treated or painted wood in coarser dimensions.
There were probably no major changes to Au-gustenborg’s outside environment during the 60s or 70s. However, much happened during the 1980s. By then the effects of previous decades’
rationality focused housing construction as part of the Million Homes Programme had begun to breed dissatisfaction, social problems and segrega-tion. The poor quality in planning and execution meant outdoor environments had quickly become run-down. Government funds were therefore made available for so-called environmental im-provements, mainly of the areas built in the 1960s.
These funds were very favourable and available to all homes. Augustenborg also applied for and re-ceived the funding.
In 1997, it was very easy to identify which parts of the gardens had been refurbished during the 80s, as their visual forms were completely different from the original features. Timber, benches and play equipment looked excessively robust, reflect-ing the thought that durability and rational con-struction take precedence over slender elegance.
Most of the renewal during Augustenborg’s first 50 years was based on different design and charac-ter principles than those applied when the area was built. This was partly because of changing tastes but also a result of new materials and construction techniques. These were new times and new ideas, and no one created principles that could help old and new merge in a positive and deliberate way.
Many trees were planted in the gardens to make them more homely than what Birger Myl-lenberg’s design had created. In the three gardens we studied closer, the most striking difference is the presence of trees. The trees shrunk the space, and fundamentally changed the large open gar-dens created by Birger Myllenberg. This change was further reinforced by moving the playgrounds and seating towards the centre of the gardens.
These were previously by the corners and edges where they connected better to the whole and did not break up the space.
One special form of change is related to main-tenance and care. This brings slower, creeping
changes. Especially when it comes to managing vegetation.
The plants were growing in good conditions and had developed well when the Eco-city project started. In many cases they were beautiful, well-de-veloped individuals. In Augustenborgsparken, the trees and shrubs were chosen and placed carefully from the beginning, even though the large trees remained from when the area was still farmland, which created well-defined and pleasant spaces.
Plants, unlike hard materials, become more attract- ive as the years pass, something which was clear in 1997 in Augustenborg.
Over the decades, maintenance had become in-creasingly static and generally performed without expertise or empathy. It had mainly been aimed at maintaining the gardens’ existing vegetation, not about managing and developing their qualities.
Many dead plants had not been replaced. Many borders had gradually been depleted and disap-peared. The process was likely slow, but gradually the absence of developmental maintenance made the character of the area feel increasingly unclear and made the space look uncared for. As a result, much of the area’s original aesthetic values also dis-appeared.
1998-2001: Grand regeneration with an environmental flavour
On March 18, 1998 the Eco-city Augustenborg project started, aiming to make the area more socially, economically and environmentally sus-tainable.
The following objectives were set for the out-door environment (from Idéförslag EKOstaden Augustenborg, 1997):
• Solve waste/stormwater problems
• Renew/enrich the residential gardens to in-crease well-being and social interaction
• Increase flora and fauna by 50%, increase nat-ural experiences
• Reduce paved surfaces, switch from asphalt to gravel
Illustration by Ingrid Kristensson/Edge.
Figure 3. Drawing based on Svenska Landskap’s survey of the gardens in the Arla block in 1999.
• Restore the area’s original character in general, recreate the cultural environment in a classic residential area
• Playgrounds need to be restored and refur-bished
• Local waste management, transitioning to a system with several shared recycling houses with source separation
• An educational ‘Music Garden’ playground is installed in the park and its flora and fauna is increased by 50%
• Increased biodiversity.
There were also economic incentives:
• The need to solve flooding problems in local basements
• The opportunity to apply for government grants
• Municipal housing company MKB wanted to reverse the area’s negative spiral in a way that would be economically beneficial, while providing a sustainable long-term platform to create a better local environment.
• Resource management and collaboration be-tween the various operations in the area.
In 1998 and 1999, work began to reshape Au-gustenborg’s outdoor environment alongside se-veral other projects such as restoring facades and waste management. The driving force of chang-es to the outdoor environment was the City of Malmö (Streets and Parks Department, water uti-lity VA-verket, Internal Services Department) and municipal housing company MKB. Svenska Land-skap (gardens and the educational ‘Music Garden’
playground) and Mellanrum Landskapsarkitekter (a sustainable urban drainage system) were hired
as consultants. Lars Landin was commissioned to renovate the schoolyard, but we do not address that in this chapter.
Augustenborg has 13 different residential blocks, each with between one and six gardens, a total of about 25. The area was split into six stag-es, including the school and Augustenborgspark-en. MKB was in charge of the gardens, VA-verket took responsibility for the open stormwater sys-tem, while the Streets and Parks Department fixed the park and the streets and the Internal Services Department took care of the school.
As for the garden redevelopments, Svenska Landskap was tasked to improve the area by devel-oping proposals to improve the residential gardens, in close collaboration with residents (especially through a number of consultation meetings), and adapt them according to needs and to increase biodiversity. The goal was to increase recreational opportunities, opportunities for play, improve the aesthetic experience and increase well-being. The assignment also involved recreating the character of the newly built Augustenborg which had been lost over the years in an environmentally friendly way. The work was carried out in close collabo-ration with Mellanrum Landskapsarkitekter, who were to transform the area’s stormwater manage-ment into an open delaying system. The goal was to integrate the stormwater system into the design of the gardens.
Svenska Landskap’s efforts were underpinned by the idea that a residential building that is beautiful, pleasant, cozy and well-functioning is an engine for socially sustainable planning. When the residential garden meets residents’ needs for well-being, beau-ty, respect, different functions, people often spend more time there. It provides more opportunities for simple but important social contact. Adults meet adults, children get to know other children and adults, and adults get to know other people's chil-dren. Friendships and social networks are formed and strengthened. Security and well-being increase and anonymity decreases.
The area still had some very fine qualities,
especially the well-grown, large and beautiful trees, as well as the residential gardens’ relational structures. There were clear traces, but only trac-es, of the gardening tradition and the work during the 1940s and 50s. In other ways, the gardens had been uncared for, while their appearance and func-tion were lacking, mainly because of negligence and inexpert maintenance.
Svenska Landskap was also commissioned to renovate Augustenborgsparken, which basically meant a restoration of the large but run-down playground, while Mellanrum was to design the management of stormwater in the park. The park is the area’s collective recreational place, made for everyone. The old trees were magnificent, and the lawns functioned well. The lower part of the park was used for open stormwater management (see below).
Mellanrum’s task from VA-verket, the sustaina-ble urban drainage system, was meant to mitigate basement flooding caused by a combined sewage system which did not have the capacity to deal with heavy rainfall.
The flooding problem would be solved while also improving the area. The work would be co-ordinated with local residents. The assignment included a number of sub-projects in many, or nearly all, of the blocks, as well as Augustenborgs- parken and Augustenborgsgatan.
A surface-level blue-green infrastructure was to be built in a largely flat area, which only had a low incline. The fear of causing basement floods meant that all canals and ponds were ordered to be made with waterproof bottoms so stormwater would not leak. It was an excessive fear that made the project more expensive. The soil is difficult for stormwater to infiltrate. The risk of it percolating through the soil to the basements is virtually non-existent.
The stormwater system’s design was further complicated with respect to Augustenborg’s typ-ical 1950s features have a cultural and histortyp-ical value. The sustainable urban drainage system would also have to respect the existing plant life around the district.
Figure 4. Drawing based on Svenska Landskap and Mellanrum’s work, from 2000, of the redevelopment of the Arla block’s gardens.
Illustration by Ingrid Kristensson/Edge