The Rear Window

In Stockholm, as in many other cities, the issues of preservation and modern development are constant. We value mainly the image of our neighbourhoods, and give it protection for its building heritage. This theme is prevalent in the neighborhood Mariaberget at Södermalm, a place with a context of high historical value that can be considered layered over time. An urban structure that received its definition, in a time, when living meant something else. The building stock consists of the idea of the core family and the traces of the working-class dwellers of Södermalm. Images are built up by how one usually experiences a city. We follow the facades that line street and feel the life of what’s behind them. The image of Mariaberget is of great historical value, a timeframe of Stockholm speaking of simple housing, and close living on the high hills of the city. This project is then built up around the will to keep breathing life into all parts of the city, including Mariaberget. The initial response, therefore, directs attention to what we don’t see from the street. Can the structure of our modern apartments, where the courtyard (or the rear) is of great importance for a neighbourhood, be reconsidered for how we live and with whom we live with. In Mariaberget, the small courtyards that were once for sanitary functions, are now left small but filled with potential. The project explores this by developing two courtyards and a park, with new additions on its open plots and apartments directing living towards the rear window. Through this trying to answer the question of; in a protected and rich historical context like Mariaberget, can the rear of a building be developed and reconsidered for how we live and with whom we live with, whilst still keeping the values from the past? A critical addition onto the layers of time.