20 June 2010
Malmö – the sustainable city.
During Nash Saturday on the 19th of June and International Sunday on the 20th
June, RIBA London in conjunction with the Crown Estate Paving Commission and
the British Council, will host a 48 hour rolling programme of diverse talks and
conversations. As part of this event the Swedish Embassy will host a talk on 20
June, titled “Malmö – the sustainable city”, which will focus on how architectural
planning during the last ten years has played a major part in Malmö’s
transformation from an industrial city to a city of knowledge.
Malmö is situated in the south of Sweden and is the country’s third largest city
with around 300 000 residents. Its recent transformation has been based on
Malmö City Council’s vision of becoming a sustainable city, both socially,
economically and ecologically. The aim has been to achieve this by consolidating
and raising the level of education, facilitating a planning process for sustainable
city development and strengthening integration. The talk will mainly focus on the
Western Harbour, a former ship yard and the best known example of sustainable
urban development in Malmö. Sustainability has been a key element in the
transition; the energy supply for a major part of the Western Harbour is 100%
renewable and locally produced. For Malmö City as a whole, the aim is to, by 2020,
be climate neutral and by 2030 run on 100% renewable energy. Malmö City
Council is also focusing on retrofitting existing buildings. A good example of this is
Augustenborg, an area which was originally built in the 1950s and which has been
redeveloped introducing green roofs and an open rainwater management system,
which takes care of nearly all of the storm water.
The talk will focus on how Malmö City Council has taken a holistic approach to
sustainable city development, investing in new city districts centred on sustainable
development, retrofitting existing areas as well as investing in centres of learning
surrounding urban sustainability. Mr Christer Larsson (Architect SAR/MSA, KKH),
Director of City Planning at Malmö City Council and Chairman of
NordicCityNetwork will be leading the talk.
The talk is at 2 pm and part of International Sunday at Park Crescent, Portland
Place, London W1 (Speakers Crescent)
For more information on the event and how to reserve tickets, please e-mail Ann
Nilsen at Ann.Nilsen@foreign.ministry.se or telephone 0207 917 6465