11 replies to this topic

[Petey21]

Hello all, I'm new to this board, and would like to introduce my hometown to the world. Örnsköldsvik is a small industrial town in Sweden, and the population of the municipality is roughly 55,000. It's located in the northeastern coast of Sweden, in a part also known as "The High Coast".

Örnsköldsvik is probably mostly known for the ice hockey players born and raised here, names like Peter Forsberg (Philadelphia Flyers) and Markus Näslund (Vancouver Canucks) are but a few NHL players born and raised in this little Swedish town, and North American media such as ESPN have been here. Below is a link to a video clip about Örnsköldsvik from Canadian sports network TSN.

http://media.tsn.ca/...ovik1217_hi.wmv

Feel free to read more about Örnsköldsvik here:

...

And now on to some pics of town.


Generic overview of town, from a lookout spot on a nearby mountain


Part of an office complex


Another view of the office complex, note the ski jump in the background


The main library


An old hotel


An office complex


The main square


Older building


Generic picture #1


Generic picture #2


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Generic picture #6


The court house, probably the ugliest one in the world?


Part of college campus


The city museum


These colorful apartment buildings are the tallest buildings in town


This church was voted "Most beautiful church in Sweden" a few years ago


New indoor arena (7,200 seats) currently under construction, to be opened in August 2006

[NCB]

Very nice pictures, Petey21!

I've never been up to the High Coast area of Sweden, thought I have spent alot of time visiting(and living) in Stockholm and Helsingborg. It's great to see some more Sweden on the forum!

Also, welcome to UP!

[ZachariahDaMan]

Welcome to Urban Planet!  Those are great pictures, especially the one of the old hotel.

[Mith242]

Took me a while to find this topic.  Great pics.  I have some Swedish/Finnish ancestry so I particularly like seeing some pics and finding out more about some of the countries my ancestry came from.  

[john_denver]

Very nice pictures!
I need to get there some day.

[Christian]

Beautiful Swedish city, i need to visit that place someday as well, i still have not travelled much around Sweden!

[southernyank]

Great shots!! I especially  love the one of the church.

[Petey21]

I'm bumping my old thread here to show some proposed buildings in town and to hear what you all think of them.

First there is a performing arts complex building, with quite a different shape as you can see.



Then two proposed highrise hotels, independent from each other but located in the same block. These two have received both appreciation from some people because they add to a new and more modern look to the skyline, but also massive criticism from others that they don't fit in with the surrounding buildings and that they block the view towards the water. What are your opinions?

[The Voice of Reason]

Petey21, on Jun 10 2008, 08:33 AM, said:

I'm bumping my old thread here to show some proposed buildings in town and to hear what you all think of them.

First there is a performing arts complex building, with quite a different shape as you can see.



Then two proposed highrise hotels, independent from each other but located in the same block. These two have received both appreciation from some people because they add to a new and more modern look to the skyline, but also massive criticism from others that they don't fit in with the surrounding buildings and that they block the view towards the water. What are your opinions?

I reserve my judgement untill I get an answer to this series of questions..

what currently stands on the site they plan on building these projects?  or in other words are they destroying something nice to build these or are they filling in a toxic waste dump?

and how do these new buildings interact with the street.  In most situations the way a modern buildinng interacts on its lowest 4 floors is the most important aspect.  shadows cast on parks, modern architecture contrasting with historic steeples etc tends to matter less if the street becomes nicer on the lowest 4 floors.

[Petey21]

The Voice of Reason, on Jun 11 2008, 04:31 PM, said:

I reserve my judgement untill I get an answer to this series of questions..

what currently stands on the site they plan on building these projects?  or in other words are they destroying something nice to build these or are they filling in a toxic waste dump?

and how do these new buildings interact with the street.  In most situations the way a modern buildinng interacts on its lowest 4 floors is the most important aspect.  shadows cast on parks, modern architecture contrasting with historic steeples etc tends to matter less if the street becomes nicer on the lowest 4 floors.

There's nothing on the sites at the moment, at least nothing of importance. On the picture below you can see the locations of the proposed buildings (both are to be hotels, run by different chains). Building 1 will be built in what is now part of a parking lot by the harbor area, next to a lower but modern-style building. Building 2 will be built behind a more historic building, a popular hotel in town. It's actually that hotel's idea to expand their hotel by building this new taller building in their own courtyard and somehow merging them together.

[monsoon]

Very nice!   Thanks for posting.  I would like to visit Sweden some day.

[The Voice of Reason]

I am not exactly sure how this one will look on the street scape side.  Generally a hotel in a place like that would usually be built to the highest standards, but it looks a bit bland and forboding.

the other one.  I like the idea.  wait, I love the idea of modern towers rising behind historic structures.  this not only preserves history and keeps the street pedestrian, but it adds density and function to the area.  Generally Hotels are a good development for cities.  They provide decent jobs for many people, they help support the near by pubs and eateries.  they do not put stress on school systems or even much road traffic.

I hope the best for your town.  These projects both seem like an positive indication for your town.