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From healing space to living space; Transforming the Ortopediska Kliniken
(2026) Pizzi, Valentina
In 2022 the municipality of Gothenburg approved a plan to develop the current Sahlgrenska University Hospital area in Gothenburg. While the project will provide additional space for important healthcare facilities, it also involves the demolition of several historic buildings, including Ortopediska Kliniken. Built in 1926, the structure represents a historical element and is a distinctive landmark of the area. This thesis explores the possibility of pre serving the Ortopediska Kliniken through transformation as an alternative to demolition. The aim is to create a space that responds to the needs of the people of the surrounding area. Through site analysis and research, three potential user groups were identified: students from Gothenburg University, the families of patients at the hospital, and healthcare workers. In the process was included site visits, investigation of spatial connections as well as study of the history of the building. In addition, academic literature and articles were examined to better understand the needs of the three user groups. The research has highlighted that a common factor between the groups is the lack of residential facilities close to the area. There is a shortage of student housing in Gothenburg, insufficient temporary accomodations for patients’ families and lack of resting places for healthcare workers du ring extended shifts. Based on these findings, the thesis pro poses the transformation of the Ortopediska Kliniken into a mixed housing facility that will accomodate three different user groups. The project demonstrates how adaptive reuse can preserve a historically important building, contributing to heritage conservation and sustainability, while, at the same time, addressing contemporary social and urban needs.
Reversible transformation; From pavilion schools to housing and back again
(2026) Lifmark, Max
Among decision makers in Gothenburg, there is a lack of nurture of the city’s built environment. The demolition wave of buildings during the 1960s are today being widely condemned, while buildings from the 1960s are simultaneously being demolished much in the same way. Although all of these buildings might not be widely loved, there are almost always qualities to be found and reasons for them to be preserved. One such building type being the pavilion school. The municipality of Gothenburg faces a problem where a decrease in children being born forces schools to close. The first schools to close are often the smallest ones, making the pavilion schools the most likely can didate. Due to their history of not being maintained, cared for or preserved, they also risk demolition. To prevent the demolition of these school buildings, they are in need of new functions. The decreased need for schools is however temporary, meaning that the schools buildings will be needed again. To make this possible, a reversible transformation is instead proposed, with shared housing as its temporary replacement. This thesis explores how the reversible transformation of pavilion schools can be used to both preserve and improve them. The qualities found in shared housing can be used to steer the transformation of the school buildings to better match the modern requirements for schools, thus leaving a better building than before behind. Similarly, qualities found in the pavilion schools can be used to improve the conditions for the shared housing, creating qualities that might not otherwise be found. In addition to this, qualities can be found in reversible design strategies that improve both the pavilion schools and the shared housing. It is then the relation between these three that creates the foundation for the principle reversible transformation. The design proposal in this thesis investigates an alter native to the suggested demolition of Trollängsskolan, set to close in 2026 due to the decreased need of schools. It illustrates the qualities that can be gained through such a transformation, and how it can be used to both preserve and improve the school.
Hembygden From Harbour to Home through Local Anchoring and Engagement
(2026) Landtreter, Isabella
The master’s thesis Hembygden explores how architectural methods can contribute to long-term sustainable rural development through local anchoring and participation. Rural municipalities face demographic changes, economic uncertainty, and challenges in attracting new residents. At the same time, social aspects, cultural heritage, and strong place identity constitute important, but often underutilized, resources in planning and design processes. Therefore, this study tests a methodological approach that combines analysis of place identity with participatory design to strengthen local influence, create meaningful residential environments, and enhance rural attractiveness. The study employs a Research by Design methodology through a qualitative case study of the Bergkvara harbour area in Torsås Municipality, Sweden. The case study investigates how these methods can be translated into physical design by interpreting the character and involving local stakeholders. Concepts and strategies are generated and then concretized in a housing-focused design project based on the planning proposal for the harbour area from 2021. This results in a vision for continued dialogue among the municipality, residents, and developers, aiming to generate interest in the site’s development potential. Analysis of place identity combined with participatory design demonstrates how architectural decisions can be supported by well-founded arguments. In this way, the architecture that emerges is recognisable, credible, and locally anchored. By involving multiple target groups, a broader understanding of residents’ thoughts and values is developed. The final design decisions, however, were not co- produced, but interpreted and developed by the architect. The process in itself therefore does not guarantee local anchoring, as it depends on the architect’s selections, interpretations, and priorities. Participatory design should instead be understood as a continuous dialogue where perspectives are integrated into the reasoning behind the design, rather than a direct translation of ideas into form. Finally, the thesis emphasises the importance of using architecture as a catalyst for community engagement and strengthened local society. By bridging local knowledge and professional architectural expertise, architectural practice can support locally anchored and resilient rural development. The role of architecture in rural contexts is therefore not only about physical form, it is about strengthening the relationship between people, place, and future.
Beyond generations; a social housing community
(2026) Björkström, Linnea
Beyond Generations is a thesis that explores how architectural design, such as spatial organisation and the layout of shared spaces, can foster social interaction and a sense of community across multiple age groups. This is investigated through inter generational housing, in a context where age seg regation is becoming increasingly common. The thesis responds to societal challenges such as lone liness and isolation, age segregation and ageism, a shortage of affordable housing for young people and families and the growing need for alternative housing models for an ageing population. Grounded in theories of social sustainability and intergenerational practice, the project combines literature studies, semi-structured interviews and reference analyses with iterative design meth ods. The design process involves sketching, study visits and site analysis to develop spatial strategies that balance private and communal life, identify ing architectural elements that foster social inter action. The project results in a housing proposal in Goth enburg, Gamlestaden, that promotes well-being, belonging and everyday encounters between gen erations, while working to counteract loneliness. Shared environments and spatial organisation are thus strategically integrated into the complex to encourage daily social interaction between res idents and strengthen the sense of community among neighbours, while maintaining possibilities for privacy and allowing residents to choose their level of engagement. This is achieved through the concept of a social corner, which concentrates circulation and shared functions within the building around a node, creating focal points for interaction through permeability between shared spaces. As well as by the implementation of transition zones located at the thresholds between the different degrees of privacy, creating a gradual shift from communal to private as you move through the building. The project thus contributes to the discussion on socially sustainable housing by proposing architectural strategies that support intergenerational relationships and social interaction in everyday communal life.
Assisted Living Reimagined; A reorganizational study of housing for seniors
(2026) Bergqvist, Joel
As many other countries, Sweden is facing an aging population. Not only will this lead to a need for more people to work in elderly care, it will also lead to a need for more suitable housing options for elderly in need of some kind of care. Today, care provided in the home is the most common solution for elders in need of some kind of support. However, bad accessibility, difficulties moving and isolation often becomes a problem as one grows older. Today the most common option when the need for care becomes unmanageable in the home is a move into an assisted living facility. This is often a dreaded option put off to the last possible moment, making what will most probably be one’s last move to be a stressful and unenjoyable experience. Most assisted living facilities of today are designed by the same principles, with 10 small apartments organized around a shared living space with kitchen, dining and living room. While this may suit some people, for others this organisation is so associated with an institution so that what will probably be their last apartment never truly becomes their home. In this thesis, an alternative to the traditional assisted living facility is explored, where apartments are more generously sized to accommodate a more varied group of elders, while still offering working staff and residents the support needed to allow for extensive care in the home. This not only allows residents to age in place, removing the need for an exhausting move towards one’s latter days, but also gives seniors a place for community and support as they age, making one’s last home something to enjoy and thrive in. The project is applied in eastern Gothenburg, but the ideas and organisational principle can very well be adapted to other sites as well, creating alternatives of living for the ageing population wherever the need may be. With drawings, diagrams and visualizations, this thesis hopes to inspire towards a more varied residential supply for seniors, where one has the right to choose how one lives even as one grows older.