Super Sustainable City Gothenburg, Sweden

Addressing the urgent need to green our built environment, Kjellgren Kaminsky Architects have conceived of a Super Sustainable City that re-envisions Gothenburg, Sweden as a future-forward ecotopia. Designed as a dense and interconnected urban area, the master plan incorporates everything from green rooftop gardens to water and energy harvesting roadways, towering solar arrays, and soaring wind turbines. These measures address the issues of density, energy, and food production, while staying true to the city’s architectural heritage.

One of the smartest steps we can take towards a more sustainable future is to build denser, more efficiently designed cities. In doing so we stand to cut down on the materials required for buildings and infrastructure, decrease the distance residents need to travel, and provide space for the world’s surging population.

By 2020 the city of Gothenburg, Sweden will be growing at a rate of 8000 new inhabitants per year, and thus far the majority of this growth has taken the form of lateral sprawl. The Super Sustainable City addresses this issue by forming a dense city center that will house one third of the city’s growth until 2020 while forming a strong connection between each bank of the site’s river. The plan is inspired by the architectural heritage of Gothenburg, and will feature traditional yellow bricks, streets paved with granite, and plenty of markets and canals.

The plan calls for energy-efficient apartments topped with roofs that serve multiple functions. South-facing terraces provide space for leisure, solar panels generate energy, and food-producing rooftop gardens provide a local source of food while helping to reduce the structure’s heating and cooling demands. Many of the roofs also feature small scale wind turbines, which further help reduce their energy needs.

In addition to energy efficient architecture, Kjellgren Kaminsky Architects‘ green Gothenburg will feature several options for sustainable transportation. A personal rapid transit system will provide for emission-free transportation, while covered cycling highways will encourage the use of bikes. These transit paths will also be capable of collecting rainwater and capturing solar energy.

Kjellgren Kaminsky Architects have created a blog for the project and they are currently inviting readers to share their own ideas for a more sustainable Gothenburg. Check out their website to submit your suggestions!