Panorama Terrace with Pendente

Rinkeby’s Panorama Terrace is a viewing platform overlooking a large green recreational area; linked by a sloped pathway leading down to the field.

Rinkeby is a socio-economically vulnerable area in northern Stockholm. The unemployment ratio is high and the education level is generally lower than average. The residents represent approximately 30 nationalities and many are refugees seeking asylum in Sweden. Rinkeby is home to about 16 000 people in an environment which is typical for the 1970s: industrial produced housing in pre- fab buildings, extensive garage decks, and public space of poor quality. The infrastructure system is based on a peripherical ring road with dead-end streets leading into the middle. The ring road creates a barrier, emphasizing the contained character of Rinkeby.

At the eastern edge runs a 4-lane highway towards Oslo, effectively separating Rinkeby from the recreational area which is one of 7 green wedges of Stockholm There is also an elevation difference of about 8 meters between the terrace and the field. Thus, an opportunity for a bold connection opened: to build a tunnel for the highway, making it possible for pedestrians to pass over the tunnel roof, reaching the panorama terrace, and then continuing along a sloping plane, which was named the Pendente, after the Italian term for a sloping path.

The terrace. The viewing platform is designed so that it resembles a very big lamp in wood. Its 7-meter angled walls have a cladding of planks with slits in between them. Inside the platform is a light-reflecting screen. This means that in the daytime the slits are dark and the solid planks light. After dark, this situation is reversed, with reflected light coming out of the slits, making this by far the biggest outdoor lamp in Stockholm.

The pendente. The sloping path contrasts with the terrace in a number of ways. It is narrow, runs perpendicular to the main direction, has a length of 120 m, and tapers to create a false perspective. The definition of the edge is a long, rustic supporting wall made of rough granite, gradually rising from the ground. The pathway is furnished with trees owning a distinct expression (Eleagnus angustifolia), plentiful seating and is also illuminated. The artist Marco Cueva has been our co-worker and has supplied eight sculptures of stone, which are sprinkled over the terrace and the Pendente.

The aim of the project has been twofold: first, to provide this suburb with a special spot of high experiential quality, a place for social gatherings which adds character and pride to Rinkeby. Second, to connect Rinkeby with adjacent suburbs on the other side of the field; a distance of 400 meters. Connecting parts of the city has been a political goal to increase social integration, which in turn is on top of the overall societal agenda in Sweden. This is one of the rare occasions when landscape architecture as a public service can make a political difference.