Candidate – Sweden
Submission by: Municipality of Linköpings
Project name: Paradiset Park
Short description
In 2013, 02landskap was commissioned by the municipality of Linköping to design and plan the park “Paradiset” in Vallastaden.
On what was previously an agricultural area, 02landskap has created a park that forms the link between the forested nature reserve in the north, and the new residential area Vallastaden in the south.
Landscape architecture plays an important part in protecting and providing qualitative, green environments in both newly built and existing areas. Paradiset has become a new park full of life and is a resource for the whole of Linköping. The park integrates recreation, play areas, social spaces, communal orchards and cultivation plots. Together, they provide conditions for interesting synergies, with a focus on social interaction between people.
The park offers a large variety of green spaces that create conditions for biodiversity; grassy open ditches for rainwater management, storm water ponds, orchards, cultivation plots, clumps of deciduous trees, and meadows.
Social cohesion
Paradiset has become an important green venue, both for those who live nearby in Vallastaden and for residents of Linköping who use the park for outings.
The park is a unique combination of public park and private allotments. For this to succeed, it was important to create a clear distinction between the private areas for cultivation and the public areas. The public area includes many spaces for people to meet, like the barbecue area, the playing areas, the dance floor, and the jetty by the pond. A system of walkways and paths also make it clear that the entire park is there to be discovered.
In the heart of the park – the graveled open space – you find the dance floor/stage. Here you can arrange smaller concerts, have midsummer celebrations, arrange harvest feasts and Christmas markets. The element of cultivation has given the park its character. It creates life and variety throughout the year. As you move through the park, you pass the cultivation plots up close. this gives the opportunity to take part in the cultivator’s joy and becomes an enriching experience.
Biodiversity
An important aspect when designing Paradiset was to create many different vegetation habitats and thus enable a rich biodiversity. On site there is a small pond which became the starting point for constructing an open system for rainwater management.
The pond was enlarged, the slopes were planted with herbaceous vegetation, and a system of open, grassy ditches leads rainwater to the pond.
The ditches and the pond contribute to a rich animal and plant life. To benefit pollinating insects, meadows have been created as an alternative to cut grass, and several groves of apples, pears, plums and cherries are planted throughout the park.
A large number of different tree species have been planted in the park to increase diversity and thereby make it more resistant to diseases. Many species were chosen to further promote biodiversity, like trees that provide seeds, berries and nuts and thus promote bird life. Some examples are beech, hazel, rowan, hawthorn and oak.
Economic factors
Plantings of high quality raise property values: trees and other plants can increase house prices. According to international studies, most people prefer to live in environments with elements of plants. Paradiset has contributed to Vallastaden’s status as an attractive, popular and well-functioning district in Linköping. The opportunity for the inhabitants to cultivate is also of great personal value to them.
In addition, plantings capture air compounds and store coal which is of socio-economic value.
Climate
The choice of materials, technical solutions and programming of the park have been permeated by sustainability ideas. All surfaces in the park have water permeable material, there is for example gravel on all walkways. All constructions are built of pine. Being of standard dimensions, they are easily replaceable. Fruit trees and cultivation plots contribute to the possibility of producing locally grown food. The park’s meadows and fruit trees promote pollinating insects.
The rainwater management was an important aspect, and the pre-existing conditions of the site were the basis of the current solution. The existing pond in the eastern part of the park has been expanded. A system of new open ditches has been dug, with smaller side ditches that lead to the larger central ditch. Thisin it’s turn leads the water to the pond.
The ditches and the pond contribute to a richer animal and plant life. They also show, in an educational way, how rainwater is managed in the park.
Soil from adjacent constructions sites has been reused to build up the park’s conceptual form; an undulating hilly landscape. This way, the transport distances for handling excess soil were considerably reduced.
The well-being of visitors
The park has been well received by both those who live in Vallastaden and by other Linköping residents who visit the park. The distinct outer boundary of the park, in combination with the dynamic and lively inner space, makes Paradiset a robust and experience rich park ready to stand the test of time.
There are different kinds of places to meet; the jetty by the pond, the barbecue area with roof-covered seatings, the play areas, the dance floor and the inviting grass hills. The adjacent preschool uses the park for close-by outings. The element of cultivation has given the park its character creating life and variety throughout the year.
The selection, origin, and quality of used products and materials (greenery and constructing materials)
The choice of materials, technical solutions, and programming of the park have been permeated by sustainability ideas. All surfaces in the park have water permeable material, there is for example gravel on all walkways. All constructions are built of pine. Being of standard dimensions, they are easily replaceable. Fruit trees and cultivation plots contribute to the possibility of producing locally grown food. To benefit pollinating insects meadows have been created as an alternative to cut grass, and several groves of apples, pears, plums, and cherries are planted throughout the park.
A large number of different tree species have been planted in the park to increase diversity and thereby make it more resistant to diseases. Many species were chosen to further promote biodiversity, like trees that provide seeds, berries, and nuts and thus promote birdlife. Some examples are beech, hazel, rowan, hawthorn, and oak.
Landscape architecture
The existing flat agricultural landscape has been reshaped by using excess soil from adjacent construction sites to build up the park’s conceptual form; a hilly undulating landscape that connects to the clumps of trees on the hills in the fields north of the park.
The hills form a central valley in a west-east direction where transverse lanes and views are obtained through low points between the hills. A secondary system of narrow gravel paths lead up the hills, providing views, and connecting the park in a fine-mesh grid. In the design, the historical organization of land in strips, has given shape to the long and narrow cultivation plots, the hedges, and the long rows of fruit trees.
The park has a layer-on-layer structure where undulating hills, trees and hedges create an distinct park space in the surrounding otherwise flat landscape. Additional layers of walkways, ditches, ponds, cultivating plots surrounded by hedges, and built constructions emphasize the park’s design language and character.
The park’s meeting with the open agricultural landscape to the north has been treated with care, and here the park meets the great grainfields and horse paddocks with a more nature-like design, with sightlines and footpaths into the surrounding landscape. To the south, in the meeting with the residential area of Vallastaden with it’s newly built blocks and city streets, the park has a distinct structure of hedges facing the street, and marked park entrances. Walkways towards Vallastaden and the University connect the park with the rest of the city.
The impact on the environment (holistic, circular approach)
The park offers a large variety of green spaces that create conditions for biodiversity; grassy open ditches for rainwater management, stormwater ponds, orchards, cultivation plots, clumps of deciduous trees, and meadows.
An important aspect when designing Paradiset was to create many different vegetation habitats and thus enable rich biodiversity. On-site there was a small pond that became the starting point for constructing an open system for rainwater management.
The pond was enlarged, the slopes were planted with herbaceous vegetation, and a system of open, grassy ditches leads rainwater to the pond.
The ditches and the pond contribute to a rich animal and plant life (for instance, you can find salamanders in the pond). To benefit pollinating insects meadows have been created as an alternative to cut grass, and several groves of apples, pears, plums, and cherries are planted throughout the park.
A large number of different tree species have been planted in the park to increase diversity and thereby make it more resistant to diseases. Many species were chosen to further promote biodiversity, like trees that provide seeds, berries, and nuts and thus promote birdlife. Some examples are beech, hazel, rowan, hawthorn, and oak.
The innovation value of the project
The park is a unique combination of public park and private allotments.
Paradiset is a cultivation park that shows the way to new ways of designing our parks by merging allotments with the park, which promotes biodiversity and promotes social cohesion. The simple and natural content of Paradiset shows skilful handling of the basic tools of landscape architecture; plants, water, and topography. The park is a unique combination of public park and private allotments. As you move through the park, you pass the cultivation plots up close, and this opportunity to take part in the cultivator’s joy becomes an enriching experience.
In addition, the park is a perfect adaption to life with covid-19. Meetings and social life can take place outside, and there are plenty of well-designed spaces for social cohesion, like the barbecue area, the playing areas, the dance floor, and the jetty by the pond.