On 19 March, the park Jubileumsparken in Frihamnen harbour won the Siena Prize, which is awarded by Architects Sweden for Sweden’s best landscape architecture project. In the Jury Statement, Jubileumsparken was lauded as an inspiring example of citizen-powered urban development and innovative sustainability.

“The Siena Prize is a prestigious architectural award. It is particularly exciting that Jubileumsparken won because this is such a special urban development project. We worked with the Passalen community association to create a meeting place for everybody which is operated, designed and managed by young people,” comments Jessica Segerlund, Älvstranden Utveckling.

Jubileumsparken is being built in response to residents’ requests for more green spaces and better access to the water, to mark Gothenburg’s 400-year anniversary. The first phase of Jubileumsparken will be completed in time for Gothenburg’s anniversary in 2021, and today the park already boasts a sauna, a fresh water swimming pool next to Göta Älv river, a small salt water pool, a sailing school, a playground, a roller derby track, raised planting beds, test cultivations, a café and more.

Jubileumsparken is run via a community partnership where young people from all areas of Gothenburg are employed to operate and develop a meeting place for everyone. Last year the park attracted over 80,000 visitors.

“Winning the Siena Prize will not only publicise Jubileumsparken among Gothenburg residents and visitors, but also means our partnership will leave an imprint in the industry,” comments Kristoffer Nilsson, process leader, City Planning Administration.

Siena Prize 2018
The Siena Prize was established in 1987 to promote good outdoor environments. The Prize is awarded to a work and its architect. The Prize was presented at the Architecture Gala in Stockholm on 19 March 2019. What the Jury said: “It goes without saying that a municipal park should be built in partnership with local residents and in harmony with local conditions. This project demonstrates the importance of letting more people have a say in urban planning, and of promoting local communities. When an industrial wharf is transformed into a park, the landscape architecture becomes an engine for change, social inclusion and emerging local economies. The winner is an inspiring example of citizen-powered urban development and an innovative approach to the concept of sustainability.” Read more about the prize on www.arkitekt.se/sienapriset.

Jubileumsparken in Frihamnen
The Siena Prize is one of several nominations and awards earned by Jubileumsparken since 2014. The Park won the architecture prize of Architects Sweden Västra Götaland in 2014 and was nominated for the Kasper Sahlin Prize in 2015. The development of Frihamnen, in which  Jubileumsparken is located, won the Urban Planning Prize in 2016. Jubileumsparken is being developed in a partnership between the Parks and Landscapes Administration, the City Planning Administration and Älvstranden Utveckling, and is one of the initiatives to mark Gothenburg’s 400-year anniversary in 2021. So far, the Park has been built according to a strategic urban development method and is part of the local development plan. The construction site was opened at an early stage and provides a convergence point between vision, plan and implementation.