Värtaverket KVV8 is Stockholm’s new thermal power plant. Fueled by biomass combustion, the construction of the power plant constitutes an important part in the city’s transition towards the use of renewable fuels, and produces a significant part of Stockholm’s district heating and electricity supply. Localized in between two key areas for biological dispersal in the National City park of Djurgården, the site itself is instrumental to the ecological connectivity of the oak tree. The National City park has one of the largest collection of oaks in northern Europe, of which many of the trees are several hundred years old. A major challenge of the project was therefore how to preserve the three 400+ year old oaks when transforming the landscape to comply with the technical and functional demands of the power plant.

The design principles of the project are based on creating a clear framework for Värtaverket that corresponds to the large scale and heavy traffic that need access to the plant. Parallel to this, there is the older landscape at the bottom, the old oaks that comes up from the ground like ancient mushrooms. These facts have been managed with a definite but at the same time refined stone scope around the old trees. At the same time, the power plant is the workplace for many people and at entrance zones, the scale is broken down with a rough-hewn granite floor, with more smooth surfaces where people walk.

The landscape plan for KVV8 is based on a holistic approach to site in all its complexity and reinforces its connection to the surroundings. It suggests a design that refines the large-scale industrial environment including the simplistic granite floor adjacent to the building’s entrances and granite edges taking care of the height differences around the oak trees. Further, the plan suggests how to preserve and highlight ecological aspects within site as well as measures for ecological compensation.

Name of the project: Värtaverket KVV8

Project category: Infrastructure

Role of the entrant in the project: Landscape architect
Project location: Fortum, Värtaverket, Stockholm

Client: Fortum
Collaborators: Urban Design, Gottlieb Paludan (Architects of the power plant)
Design year: 2012 – 2016

Year Built: 2017
Photo: Ulf Lundin

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