Report: Power of Places Nyhamnen

How can we make use of what already exists when developing new places? This question was at the heart of the Power of Places project, part of ArkDes’ practice-based research initiative 2023, conducted in collaboration with the City of Malmö.

In the future, development and management will be the same thing. To drive transformation, we must make the most of all available resources—materials, knowledge, experiences, and motivations—carefully building on what already exists. Architecture, design, and art offer tools to interpret, shape, and invite development, showing how new methods can create meaningful spaces and encounters.

Through a call for proposals, Team Layered was tasked with surveying Nyhamnen, exploring working methods, and developing full-scale prototypes that could serve as a foundation for further careful development and management of the area. Layered’s work has gradually reopened the area to the public, testing it as a community space with new uses.

Layered’s inventory and proposal for the site’s development are summarized in a report consisting of a management and development plan. The plan includes strategies and methods for how the management of the existing structures can serve as a starting point for development. It also includes proposals on how the City of Malmö can continue the work over the next 3–5 years.