Designed for the City of Stockholm, the Slussen Masterplan covers an area of Stockholm adjacent to the navigation lock between the Baltic and the freshwater Lake Mälaren. The concept for the project is to create a modern urban quarter at the heart of the Stockholm archipelago and a dynamic new civic destination. The proposal will bring new life to the area, linking the islands of Södermalm and Gamla Stan and stripping away the layers of history to reclaim a valuable city quarter. The masterplan will provide new public spaces, an accessible quayside, pedestrian and cycle routes and prominent new buildings while transforming the existing infrastructure to minimise the threat of flooding and creating a 21st century transport hub, combining bus, train, tram and metro connections within a sheltered indoor environment.

The catalyst is an urgent need to replace much of the degenerated water and transportation infrastructure, and the desire to stitch together two important parts of the city that were for so long separated by a maze of roads. The City of Stockholm is taking the opportunity to transform this important part of the capital into a new destination, creating a balance between road vehicles and pedestrians while enhancing the public realm with easier access to the waterfront. The masterplan scale and grain consciously preserves the city’s character at this historic location, and the buildings forming the new city blocks continue the grain and scale of the adjacent urban quarter.

A central feature of the new Slussen is the Water Square, a pedestrianised public space arranged around the new navigation lock and realigned quayside, animated by new restaurants and bars. On the Södermalm side the ground plane around the existing City Museum is extended out over the new below ground transport interchange and shopping mezzanine to create a series of new public spaces.

A range of mixed use buildings are integrated into the new quarter to become a dynamic urban focus for Stockholm. Slussen’s prominent waterside location opposite historic Gamla Stan will make it a magnet for the city’s best contemporary architecture, while the elegant new road and pedestrian bridges will become feature elements. Once complete, the new Slussen’s extensive public terraces will provide spectacular panoramas over Stockholm.