Moving an entire town

[DrLeftover]

5 March 2014

This spring work will begin to move Sweden's northernmost town two miles to the east. Over the next 20 years, 20,000 people will move into new homes, built around a new town centre, as a mine gradually swallows the old community. It's a vast and hugely complicated undertaking.

"When people hear that we're designing, creating and building a whole new city from scratch they think we're doing a utopian experiment," says architect Mikael Stenqvist.

But there's too much at stake to think of it as an experiment, he says.

"If this project goes wrong, the survival of Kiruna, its inhabitants and its economy is at stake. That gives us great concern - unlike any other project we work on."

More than 3,000 apartment blocks and houses, several hotels and 2.2m sq ft (0.2m sq m) of office, school and hospital space will be emptied over the next two decades - while alternatives are built on the new site.

The old church voted Sweden's most beautiful building in 2001 will be taken apart, piece by piece, and rebuilt.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26447507

 

[Jazzy]

It's a vast and hugely complicated undertaking.

For sure especially the old church.

 

[Evil Eye]

That's a weird job to have. Seems like a fairly good deal though.