Move the city, or collapse into the ground. Those were the two options for the city of Kiruna, if they wanted to keep the mining activities – that is the main source of income for the city – going. In our second episode of ’The Megaproject Listing’ we look into the urban relocation of this arctic city, located in the North of Sweden.
The masterplan for the new Kiruna by White and Ghilardi+Hellsten Arkitekter involves establishing a new central square and bringing the surrounding nature closer to the residents. This is...
The architect behind the relocation goes into the details of the city relocation. What is the final version for Kiruna? And how do you actually move an entire city?
One day he installs a new gearbox in a Volvo excavator, another day he goes 1365 meters below ground to serve heavy machinery in the mine.
Sweden’s northernmost city Kiruna was formed around a mine for more than 100 years ago. Now, the same mine is threatening to swallow up the town.
Eva and Carl-Johan Mäki lived in Kiruna’s Ullspiran district for almost 40 years. “You’ve got to look forwards, not backwards,” says Eva Mäki.
Kiruna’s early history can be tracked by studying its houses, many of which will be preserved and relocated to the new city.
Why the town of Kiruna is being moved and what makes it one of the most ambitious urban planning projects in the world.
Krister Lindstedt, lead architect for the new Kiruna, tells Spirit how people, not buildings, were put in the very heart of the design process.
The Kiruna move is unique in many ways – but it’s not the first time in history cities or parts of them have been moved and rebuilt. Here are some examples from around the world.
One day, Anton Laitamaa is a thousand meters underground and the next, servicing machines in the new center. Spirit followed him on the job.
Machine operator Martin Oja has been working on the city transformation project in Kiruna for almost ten years. He’s looking forward to the day the city is completed.
