Kvarteret Hake Köping

A modern housing block inspired by riverside farmsteads

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In 2018 Mandaworks was selected to partake in a parallel assignment for the reimagining of Hake neighbourhood, just north of the small town of Köping, Sweden. The plot is located where the Town’s urban structure meets low-density housing districts, and where two streams merge to form the Köpingsån river. The assignment was to propose an idea for the 0,5 ha residential development plot, and connect the program to a neighbouring park and riverside promenade - that together form an important node and connection through town.

The town of Köping, located on the northern shore of lake Mälaren has a rich history of industry and trade. The town has been a meeting place for merchants for hundreds of years, which has left a distinct imprint on the city. The variety of typologies along Köpingsån river are remnants of the Town’s past, and create a window into the history of the commercial trade town.

The typologies were the inspiration for our proposal, which reinterprets the locally typical “ågård” (or river farmstead) typology - a collection of buildings with different functions arranged around a partially enclosed courtyard facing the river.  In order to enable different kinds of living side by side, the proposed buildings host a variety of dwellings, ranging from small apartments to semi-detached private houses and stacked homes. The plot connects to the stream and the river promenade, overlapping the program of the development plot, the park and the river. The result is a locally connected, architecturally varied structure that supports diversity, a sense of community and social interaction.