Waterfront Cabins is a text book case of how to solve a housing shortage fast. City planners needing to rapidly increase their housing stock may want to take a leaf out of Gothenburg's impressive book.

The City is fulfilling its long-held vision to transform the old shipbuilding port area with an urban infill of mixed-use public housing, student accommodation, business and commercial premises, culture and common areas/public spaces at low cost, with sustainable modular development. 

Svenska Hem's responded to the bid in 2016 with their innovative Waterfront Cabins and Swedish Homes -the first of its kind on this scale in Europe. And their contribution to the City is rapidly reshaping Frihamnen into a vibrant new neighbourhood in the City's heart. 

They broke ground in 2019, and by this summer, 900 sustainable apartments are estimated to be fully functional. The flexible, adaptable designs are based on building concepts that Svenska Hem developed with architect Andrén Fogelström and perfected over several years. They are now so advanced that they arrive fully furnished, with everything included, from a TV to plates and bowls!

The building concept works particularly well with Sylva™ kits, which are optimised to make the most efficient use of construction materials and processes. The Sylva™ CLT kits are produced in one of Stora Enso's mills in Grüvon, assembled in Svenska Hem's factories, and then delivered to the site complete as a turnkey home ready for installation. 

Timberframe/ CLT modular homes are similar to steel-frame modular homes in many ways. According to the developers, they have almost the same structural properties and offer the same durability, with a technical lifespan of 100 years.However, no steel is used, giving the major advantage of a significantly lower carbon footprint and several biophilic health benefits. 

The project has been so successful that up to 2,000 apartments are planned for this site. Strong interest has been shown in this rapid housing solution, and Svenska now plans to build similar concept housing in more places in Sweden.

Several large European cities are currently looking for suitable land to follow Gothenburg's example. 

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