Flores & Prats were invited to design the first two buildings for Råängen: a timber tower and a lower building which establishes the corner of a future city block. The two buildings will sit next to Hage, the public garden designed by Brendeland & Kristoffersen, together forming a new civic space for the community.

Barcelona-based architects Flores & Prats have developed an international reputation for their rich, experimental approach to making buildings. Often using reclaimed materials and refurbishing existing buildings, they make stories out of the contexts in which they work and take joy in the incremental layers of history that are built up over the course of a projects’ lifespan.

Eva Prats and Ricardo Flores have extensive experience working with housing and a strong commitment to craftsmanship. They were involved in the project at an early stage, partly because of their focus on building community. We were interested in jointly exploring how what is built at Råängen could help create a sense of connection and enable exchange between people. With that as a starting point, Flores & Prats proposed that two houses be built initially. In that way, the square and the space between the buildings would be established at the same time as the houses.

The Tower could become one of the tallest buildings in Råängen – a beacon and a landmark at the heart of the neighborhood. Hörn, in turn, establishes a relationship with the Tower through its longer and lower proportions.

In Flores & Prats’ proposal, the ground-floor spaces provide opportunities for residents to work together, and one room is made available for religious gatherings. Large windows facing the square create a connection to the neighborhood and also make it possible for parents to keep an eye on children playing outside.

In the initial sketches, the buildings contain a total of 60 apartments, as well as shared spaces that can be used, for example, as kitchens, a bakery, workshops, and a library.

Flores & Prats have helped to further develop the idea of shared spaces in Råängen as a whole. Their contribution forms part of the ongoing public conversation about the area’s potential and builds on the work of earlier artists and architects in Råängen.

The public spaces will be designed with varying levels of “tension and intensity” in order to meet the needs both for individual privacy and for group activities. Spaces that fall between the private and the public spheres will be designed with particular care. It is in these spaces that informal encounters can take place – and it is precisely such encounters that can help everyone feel that they belong in a new neighborhood.