Bofill’s Arch
A semicircular housing block around a park near Södra station. Bofill used classical forms on a grand scale: a façade reminiscent of a Roman amphitheatre, pilasters several storeys high and strict symmetry. The block became the most talked-about example of Swedish postmodernism.
When the goods yard at Södra station in Stockholm was closed, a large area on Södermalm became available for housing. The area was planned in the 1980s, and the Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill and his practice Taller de Arquitectura were given the most prominent block to design. Bofill was known for large housing projects in France, where he had used classical forms on a gigantic scale and built with prefabricated concrete panels. The block was built around 1990–1992 around Fatbursparken, which lies where the lake Fatburssjön once was before it was filled in during the 19th century. Bofill wanted to give Stockholm a monumental urban form with a clear edge towards the park, and the building was erected with prefabricated concrete panels in light, warm tones.
The block takes the form of a semicircle enclosing the park, with flats on several floors and gateways leading through the building to the streets behind. The façade facing the park is composed like an ancient amphitheatre or a Roman forum, with pilasters rising through several storeys, heavy cornices and a plinth. The windows are arranged in regular rows between the pilasters, and corners and gateways are clearly marked. The strict symmetry turns the park into something like a stage or a square in front of the building. The rear facing the streets is simpler; it is towards the park that the building shows its grand face. What is unusual is the scale: the classical form is used for ordinary flats, not for palaces or public buildings.
Bofill’s Arch provoked heated debate when it was built. Some saw it as a liberating break from the plain housing blocks of the post-war period, while others criticised it as pompous and alien to Stockholm. Over the years the block has become a well-known landmark on Södermalm and a natural part of the area around Södra station. It is regarded as the clearest example of Swedish postmodernism and shows how architects of the 1980s once again became interested in streets, urban blocks and classical forms. Bofill’s other major works, such as housing estates around Paris and in Montpellier, share the same features. The block is also an early example of how old railway land in Stockholm was transformed into new districts, something later repeated in several places.