Boden is one of six municipalities in the Visions in the North project, which now invites creative national teams to work together to create proposals for sustainable shared living environments in selected areas. In the municipality of Boden, the results of an inventory of abandoned houses are being used as a basis for new housing solutions.
Norrbotten and Västerbotten are currently undergoing some of the biggest investments in green transition, technology and infrastructure. This places great demands on more housing, attractive living environments and long-term sustainability.How can we create sustainable housing in a short time while utilizing existing resources and creating long-term good quality living environments? How can we work and think in new ways?
These issues are explored in Visions in the North Part 2. It is a stand-alone continuation of Visions in the North Part 1, which was carried out in 2021. Behind the initiative are the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, ArkDes, the Swedish Energy Agency, Vinnova and Formas, through the Council for Sustainable Cities, together with the municipalities of Kiruna, Gällivare, Boden, Luleå, Skellefteå and Umeå.
A call for proposals is now open to mobilize architects, designers, antiquarians, artists and students to take on the challenge of creating sustainable shared living environments together.
New housing from abandoned buildings
In step 2, the goal will be feasible prototypes. Each participating municipality has chosen a specific focus to work on. From the municipality of Boden, it is the “Growing Together” project in the Råne river valley that, together with parts of the proposals from Visions in the North stage 1, forms the basis for stage 2. In the cross-municipal project, the municipality of Boden, the Råneå civic office, the municipality of Luleå and RÅEK (Råne älvdalsrådet i Gunnarsby församling ekonomiska förening) have carried out an inventory of abandoned houses in the villages in the Råne and Vitå älvdal valleys in 2021. As a result, more than 550 unoccupied houses in varying conditions were identified, with the aim of putting most of the properties up for sale or starting renovation before the end of the project.
In Visions in the North step 2, the idea is to find inspiration and proposals for more solutions for a sustainable housing supply based on Growing Together. These unoccupied houses did not go unnoticed by the Stage 1 teams and several of them presented innovative solutions to bring the empty houses back to life.
National call for Visions in the North step 2
Between February 28 and April 4, cross-sectoral teams can register their interest via www.arkdes.se. Idea sketching is then carried out in the spring and fall. This within the framework of the call financed by Vinnova, Formas and the Swedish Energy Agency, which offers funding of SEK 600,000 per team for a first step.
The work is divided into two phases, the first consisting of inventory and analysis and the development of a management and implementation plan. In phase two, a small selection of teams are given the opportunity to test their proposals on site through prototyping.
Developing a local model for abandoned houses
“This will be another step in the work on the abandoned houses that we have identified and made visible. It would be fantastic if it could become a prototype that could be used throughout the municipality and also in other places”, says Jenny Engström, RÅEK manager.
“In this project we want to build on Growing Together and Visions in the North step 1 by asking the question- What role can the already built play in the communities of the future? At a time when, in parallel with a great need for housing and an economically unfavorable world situation, we also see that much of what has already been built is unused and in the long run risks falling into disrepair, this feels like a very exciting case to investigate. For example, can these buildings be converted into apartments? For whom? Who will rebuild them, mediate and own them,” says Gustav Hamlund, urban development strategist at the municipality of Boden and the municipality’s contact person in the project.
“As chair of the Council for Sustainable Cities and national architect, I am proud of the initiative Visions in the North step 2 where we put the municipalities at the center together with creative, knowledgeable and skilled designers to find solutions on how long-term sustainable, inclusive and enriching living environments and housing can be achieved in a world of tough challenges”, says Helena Bjarnegård.
Photos: Mats Engfors/Fotographic
