BIG’s ‘wooden hillside’ residential building in Stockholm officially opens

The idea behind Bjarke Ingels Group’s 79&Park in Stockholm was to create an inhabitable landscape of cascading residences that combines the touches of a suburban home with urban living. The resulting structure, referred to as a “wooden hillside,” provides 169 residential units, almost all with unique layouts, across approximately 270,000 sf.

79&Park’s tallest corner is 35-meters-tall to maximize the amount of natural daylight that reaches the interior garden space and units while the shortest corner is just seven-meters-tall. From a distance, these varying heights give the building the look of a manmade hillside extending toward the Gärdet national park. The building is made up of a series of 3.6 meter by 3.6 meter modules that are organized around the central open green courtyard. The courtyard includes a series plateaus that vary in size to create activity pockets and spaces for amenities, such as a dog daycare, a preschool, and bicycle racks.

Aerial view of 76&Park Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu.

The units feature white oak floors, ceramic granite in the bathrooms, natural stone in the kitchens, and large windows that create a smooth transition between the indoors and the outdoors. Every unit in the building has access to private and shared roof terraces planted with a variety of trees, bushes, and flowers. 79&Park’s ground floor features commercial space open to the public.

79&Park terrace Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu.

The interior courtyard of 79&Park Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu.

79&Park as seen from the neighboring national park Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu.

Bold cantilevered designs are prevalent today, as developers and architects strive to maximize space, views, and natural light in buildings. Cantilevered structures, however, present a host of challenges for building teams, according to José R. Rivera, PE, Associate Principal and Director of Plumbing and Fire Protection with Lilker.