Three voices on: Sustainable urban development
Three experts offer their perspectives on a current topic.
How is cultural heritage significant in your sustainability work?
Johan Larsson,
Business Region Göteborg. Works with urban and site development in Gothenburg and the surrounding region.
“To understand the meaning of cultural heritage, I had to use Google, which probably says a lot about the subject, that people think about the preservation of old cultural environments. Without our cultural heritage we lack soul, and without soul we tend to become anxious and lack a sense of belonging. In my work with urban and place development, it’s easy to point towards environments where people find peace. This usually involves older environments with a strong sense of history, something with more weight, something to lean on, and often on a scale that we perceive as ‘human’. My work with sustainability tends to be linked to the preservation of older environments and properties, and there I think you can see a change from the real estate companies; there’s a greater understanding of taking advantage of what has already been built and creating something new from the old. However, we have a long way to go before we can truly call it sustainable.”
Manne Aronsson,
CEO of Aspelin Ramm Fastigheter. Aspelin Ramm Fastigheter initiates, develops and manages real estate projects in western Sweden.
“Cultural heritage is an important part of our sustainability work, and a natural part of our way of working. We’re drawn to places with history and soul – environments where we can create unique meeting places without erasing what already exists. We’re currently developing East Square in Gamlestaden, an iconic landmark that has a strong identity and is imbued with innovation. These days, we talk a lot about building flexibly and circularly, but here we have a robust 1960s building that was ready to be developed right from the start. By preserving the building’s skeleton and façade, we’re saving around 6,100 tonnes of CO2 and allowing the building to remain a city landmark. We’re also reusing materials and details such as ceramic tiles, chandeliers and lifts – a heritage that is now being given a new life in innovative office environments.”
Henrik Kant,
Urban Planning Director, City of Gothenburg.
“A city is often built in stages, and in layers upon layers. There’s value in being able to preserve entire environments or carriers of meaning so that you can read how the city once was. The link with previous uses helps to create attractive, unique and meaningful environments. However, a city is constantly evolving, and contemporary developments must be visible in the city in order to create new layers and contribute towards future cultural environments. Today’s needs must be constantly weighed up against how we can use existing structures and the new structures that we create. When it comes to cultural heritage, this can be seen as purely intangible aspects, such as expressions or traditions, or tangible aspects, which in terms of urban design can be neighbourhoods, buildings, works of art or other objects. In urban planning, only the material values govern what we do, although balancing up material values often takes into account the preservation of intangible values as well.”
