Skalholt gardens - An adaptive reuse strategy to turn unused office space into attractive yet affordable housing

Sammanfattning: Skalholt 1 is a massive, to a large extent vacant old office building in Kista, a business park 13 km northwest of central Stockholm. As are many other offices in this area; all while housing is desperately needed and very expensive.This thesis work aims to suggest a few, cost effective actions that can change this building into attractive, long term housing – considering both the identity of the building and the qualities of the homes created there. Fundamental values are to reuse as much as possible and respect the longevity and quality of the materials, while  seeking to crate homes that can accommodate the needs and desires for a diverse range of families.The result of the project is a suggested Strategy with actions in 5 aspects: -    To create a visible, welcoming and attractive entrance with services and amenities. -    To change the color scheme of the building. -    To create an lush garden in the vast inner courtyard. -    To offer large areas that can be shared in various ways in order to create a feeling of ownership and security also outside ones own apartment (home elasticity). -    To carefully distribute apartments in such a way that individual preferences can influence how daylight and space is used.