Elineberg Housing
Encyclopedia
The Elineberg Housing development consists of five high-rise apartment buildings located in the residential area of Elineberg in Helsingborg
, south-western Sweden
. Completed in 1965, the 13 to 15 storey towers were designed by the Danish
award-winning architect Jørn Utzon
who, at the time, was working in Helsingborg with the Swedish architectural firm Arton in conjunction with architects Erik and Henry Andersson.
The buildings are in yellow brick with some brown detailing, the vertical windows being the only feature to break the otherwise smooth facades. The effect is enhanced by the fact that each building is broken into sections depending on the varying widths of the balconies. Despite their considerable height, the towers have an impressively light appearance. The apartments, which were quite small in the original plans, were later enlarged, contributing to the slender, vertical appearance of the buildings. Inside, the apartments on the higher storeys are terraced into slightly different levels, the floor being raised on the entrance side, the lower level leading through to the balcony. As Utzon commented: "You can stand on the 14th floor and look at the beautiful sea two kilometres away." He felt that if the floor was flat, the view would draw attention to the often dull and dreary sky over the Öresund
. Another interesting feature is the strutting of the balconies in order to reduce vertigo. The number of vertical struts increases as the towers rise.
Helsingborg
Helsingborg is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 97,122 inhabitants in 2010. Helsingborg is the centre of an area in the Øresund region of about 320,000 inhabitants in north-west Scania, and is Sweden's closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city...
, south-western Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Completed in 1965, the 13 to 15 storey towers were designed by the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
award-winning architect Jørn Utzon
Jørn Utzon
Jørn Oberg Utzon, , AC was a Danish architect, most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia. When it was declared a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007, Utzon became only the second person to have received such recognition for one of his works during his lifetime...
who, at the time, was working in Helsingborg with the Swedish architectural firm Arton in conjunction with architects Erik and Henry Andersson.
History
In 1954, Helsingborg launched a competition for a development plan including housing for the Elineberg district. There were 19 proposals, three of which were purchased by the city. However, deeming that none of them qualified directly as the basis for a new development, the competition committee launched a second competition, the results of which were presented at the H55 housing exhibition in 1955. After the revised proposal from Arton was accepted, construction began in 1957.Architecture
The five tower blocks are positioned on a common concrete platform along the edge of a grassy slope running down to a main road. Placed in slightly different orientations, they enclose the Elineberg Square parking area on the eastern side. The three central towers are located to the west while those flanking the sides of the square are further east. The three most northerly blocks have balconies facing west and south while those to the south have balconies facing east and south.The buildings are in yellow brick with some brown detailing, the vertical windows being the only feature to break the otherwise smooth facades. The effect is enhanced by the fact that each building is broken into sections depending on the varying widths of the balconies. Despite their considerable height, the towers have an impressively light appearance. The apartments, which were quite small in the original plans, were later enlarged, contributing to the slender, vertical appearance of the buildings. Inside, the apartments on the higher storeys are terraced into slightly different levels, the floor being raised on the entrance side, the lower level leading through to the balcony. As Utzon commented: "You can stand on the 14th floor and look at the beautiful sea two kilometres away." He felt that if the floor was flat, the view would draw attention to the often dull and dreary sky over the Öresund
Oresund
The Sound , is the strait that separates the Danish island Zealand from the southern Swedish province of Scania. Its width is just at the narrowest point between Helsingør, Denmark, and Helsingborg, Sweden...
. Another interesting feature is the strutting of the balconies in order to reduce vertigo. The number of vertical struts increases as the towers rise.