Bo01: to dwell
Guardian Unlimited: Swede dreams
“The key word in Bo01’s strategy was ‘diversity’. No two buildings are the same. Each was designed by a different architect (mostly Swedish), using different materials, with a different mix of accommodation inside, and each is decked out in its own bright colour scheme. On the development’s perimeter, the buildings are paler and taller, to block out the wind, while the heart of the development is calmer in atmosphere and louder in colour…
One thing that’s not so diverse about Bo01 is the people. Judging by the healthy, affluent, almost entirely white residents, you’d never guess that 40% of Malmo’s population is foreign-born - mostly from Yugoslavia, East Africa, Iran and Iraq - and from their grubby housing blocks on the other side of the city, this must indeed look like an unattainable paradise…A backlash, of sorts, has started. Down in Mollevangen, the student district, they’re selling T-shirts with a graphic reconfiguring Calatrava’s tower as a raised middle finger, and the slogan ‘Fucking Torso’. A cut of the profits goes to the local homeless shelter…
In other ways, Bo01 has discovered that sustainability and quality of life are not always compatible. It was originally hoped that the project would be a shining example of low-energy living but because of its citizens’ necessarily affluent lifestyles, this never really happened.”