The Winners of the Living Streets Competition Are on Display at ArkDes

The winners of the design competition Living Streets have now been announced. In the competition, upper secondary school students from across Sweden explored what future street environments might look like when the car is no longer the primary point of departure. From Tuesday, May 5, and for two weeks onwards, the winning entry – together with a selection of other proposals – is on display at Torget at ArkDes.

In total, nine upper secondary schools from different parts of the country participated, submitting a combined 104 entries, both individual and group projects. The students worked with prototypes, models, AI illustrations and speculative design proposals that address questions of sustainable, healthy and inclusive streets in various ways.

Winning Entry: Ormen

The winner of the Living Streets competition is Ormen (the Snake), designed by a group of students from Anna Whitlocks Gymnasium in Stockholm.

In its motivation, the jury highlights how the proposal combines strong formal expression with functionality and a clear sense of place. Ormen features a distinctive, nature-inspired design, where the contrast between a darker upper surface and a lighter underside creates a coherent and carefully considered expression. The form demonstrates a high degree of abstraction that is compelling from an architectural perspective.

At the same time, the design creates a clear sense of spatial definition in the urban environment. It asserts a presence, offers shelter, and contributes to an engaging visual and physical tension. The well-considered overall composition, functional strength and architectural quality make it the jury’s clear choice.

The Jury

During the spring, the jury undertook extensive work reviewing and discussing the many submitted entries. The jury consisted of Gert Wingårdh and Mark Isitt, together with Madeléne Beckman and Olle Lundin from ArkDes. The assessment focused both on the students’ design processes and the realised outcomes, with particular attention to creativity, innovation, and how well the proposals addressed the competition brief and criteria.

On display at Torget from May 5–17

At ArkDes, the winning proposal Ormen is presented alongside several other entries that reflect the breadth and forward-looking visions of the competition.

The Living Streets competition is part of ArkDes’ collaboration with SVT in connection with the broader initiative Så byggdes Sverige (How Sweden Was Built), a television series broadcast in autumn 2025. In the series, Gert Wingårdh, Mark Isitt and Petra Mede guide viewers through Swedish architectural and urban development history – from residential streets and suburbs to large-scale urban visions. ArkDes contributed material from its collections to the series.

As part of this initiative, ArkDes also offers educational methodology material that upper secondary school teachers and students can use to further explore issues related to street environments, sustainable urban development and design processes in the classroom.

The exhibition runs May 5–17,  2026 and is open to all, with free admission to ArkDes.