It’s easy to understand why the town of Järfälla, Sweden, chose Tham & Videgård‘s Double-Helix Tower as the winning design in a competition held to select an observation deck from which to watch the progress of on the Barkarbystaden urban development project, just west of Stockholm.
Not only is the bold and bright spiralling staircase stunning to see, but it’s already known what will be done with the materials after the projects completion.
It is expected that the Barkabystaden project will take 25 years to reach completion, upon which time the wood-based Double-Helix Tower will be recycled into an urban playground for both kids and adults alike.
The winning tower design smartly compensates for the Barkarbystaden project’s long wait-time by turning the construction itself into a site to be seen, a tourist point of interest, its observation deck a new landmark in and of itself. And the playground sets a landmark example of smart urban environmentalism, improving community space and taking advantage of existing materials. [Inhabitat]