Bredäng Park – dance and play! « Landscape Architecture Platform

In collaboration with a focus group of girls living in the suburb Bredäng, Nivå developed a park for spontaneous dance, play and free sports. Current research demonstrates that a majority of Swedish children and youth do not engage in enough daily physical activity; this problem is most pronounced amongst older teenage girls. With that in mind, the process of seeking to formulate new, more inclusive opportunities for physical activity that would appeal to a wide cross-section of society started. The proposal responds to the fact that the site is presently dominated by a football pitch, used mainly for organized sports events for boys and men. The focus group, in contrast, emphasized the importance of rather creating a safe and vibrant space for everyone, where friends, siblings and even parents and relatives could spend time together. Through a series of workshops, the project developed a design for a park that would stimulate spontaneous physical activity more broadly. A pergola and stage with stepped seating ensures that the park can be used throughout the day and in all seasons.