A new sustainable district is emerging

Stockholm Royal Seaport

Sweco’s experts are involved in the urban planning of Stockholm Royal Seaport, based on social sustainability, climate adaptation, traffic planning, promoting biodiversity, and energy-smart solutions.

Visualization of a district from above with modern multi-family houses with green roofs adjacent to a port area with larger cruise ships.

Facts about the project

  • Client

    Stockholm Stad. Stockholm vatten. Fortum. Svenska bostäder. AP Fastigheter. Peab. Vasakronan. Einar Mattsson Bygg. Trafikkontoret. Järnhusen

  • Place

    Stockholm, Sweden

  • Status

    Ongoing

Visualization of a district from above with modern multi-family houses with green roofs adjacent to a port area with larger cruise ships.
Sketch of a district from above with large green areas.

Stockholm Royal Seaport – a new district with sustainability focus

At Stockholm Royal Seaport, covering 236 hectares and located in one of Stockholm’s best locations, plans are underway for 12,000 new homes and 35,000 new workplaces. The development is taking place on sites that were previously used for gas production and other industrial activities. The port’s operations are now being modernised and concentrated at the piers, and management of containers and oil is being moved away from the area. This frees up land that is significant for the urban planning implementation.

An unparalleled project in sustainable urban development

Stockholm Royal Seaport also serves as a test bed for new ideas and innovations in sustainable urban development. The project is unique globally, in sustainable urban development, Sweco is proud to have been able to contribute with solutions that promote vibrant and attractive urban environments, increased resource efficiency, and reduced climate impact. The overall environmental goals for Stockholm Royal Seaport are for the area to be a climate-adapted and fossil-fuel-free district by 2030. Planning started in the early 2000s, and the development has continued over the years in several different stages. The area is planned to be fully developed around 2030.

From architecture to street design in urban planning

Sweco’s assignments within Stockholm Royal Seaport span a range of technical areas, and we have contributed, for example, to building and landscape architecture, street design, and stormwater management. Sweco’s architects and landscape architects have designed new student housing in the triangular-shaped Söderåsen block, the public spaces at Gasverket – the district’s future centre of commerce and services, and we have also contributed to an investigation for the planned transformation of one of the old gas holders into a commercial operation.

Sweco ensures traffic safety and accessibility

As part of our efforts in urban planning, it is particularly important to ensure traffic safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as public transportation. Early on in the planning phase, it was decided that walking, cycling, and public transportation should be prioritised and the obvious choice at Stockholm Royal Seaport. Sweco has also been contributing expertise in accessibility for travellers with impairments as well as legal expertise in traffic regulations. To ensure that traffic functions properly and that it is safe for road users during construction, Sweco has been contributing with coordination, advisory services, and the review of traffic management plans since 2017. The coordination between different traffic management plans, i.e., plans for intended traffic diversions, closures, and signage during the construction period, provides an overall solution for traffic, despite the large number of ongoing construction projects. In addition, the risk of having to rethink matters and delays is reduced when contractors can consider planned traffic solutions at an early stage in the planning process.

  • Visualization of a district with some older buildings in red brick in the foreground, evening light.

Future stormwater management in urban planning

Sweco’s landscape architects have designed the areas Hjorthagsparken and Hästhagsparken, where major focus has been placed on stormwater management, green areas, and promoting biodiversity. The same focus has also applied to various other streets, since the management of stormwater has a significant impact on function and design. At Stockholm Royal Seaport, we are designing the future stormwater management with green corridors in the streets and vegetation that purifies the water. Sweco developed the overall strategy for stormwater in 2011, and since then, we have developed several stormwater strategies for sub-areas.

Other technical input in urban planning

Sweco has also been active within technical areas such as lighting design, water and wastewater engineering, data coordination, accessibility, traffic planning, logistics, soil contamination, waste management, input on various engineering structures, as well as project management.