Diktaren

In the vicinity of the Ingentingskogen, a new district is emerging where HSB’s Brf Diktaren continues its construction along Arvid Tydéns Allé and Ektorget. The apartment building consists of two four-floor units with a six-floor corner, on which a retracted roof terrace is located. The end of the west unit towards Tecknarvägen contains a preschool which consists of a lower two-floor volume with a green roof, embracing the building’s south-facing inner courtyard. The hill located in the south is richly covered with oak trees creating an entirely natural background for the apartments and for the communal courtyard, which is accessible from all stairwells.

The architecture has a modest expression which correlates to the Statens Bakteriologiska Laboratorium (1933-37) on the other side of the Arvid Tydéns Allé, which was designed by Gunnar Asplund. We created a strict, repetitive pattern formed by windows and exterior doors in the facade. The plastered house sits on a profiled concrete plinth which allows vegetation to climb up the facade, producing a softer encounter with the street besides the oak entrances and pedestrians strolling by.

Between the plinth and the second floor, the facade has been plastered roughly whereas the remaining floors upwards have been given a smoother finish. This contrast forms a subtle yet effective difference which provides the house with a distinctive feature. A set of light tones have been formed by the combination of a slightly broken white plaster which is complimented by a golden accent colour from the windows and handrails.

The apartments are space-efficient with often relatively open connections between kitchen, dining area and living room. The compact and high window volumes make the apartments very bright and allow for possible future layout changes. The apartments consist of a variation in sizes between 1 to 5-room apartments, with predominantly 2 to 3-room apartments. Most of the larger apartments are located higher up in the building, with great views of the forest and the hill in the south.

A complete detailed plan already existed when we came into the project, which included fixed volumes which could no longer be altered.