The Lilla Bommen building was a part of a city initiative in the 1980s aimed at restoring the connection to the cities central waterfront, the Göta Canal. The city proposals sought to create a balanced central square that provided both functional areas for shops and offices, and open public places that created cohesion to the waterfronts of the city that had been lost by prior existing infrastructure. The project was a joint initiative between the
Skanska Group and principal architect
Ralph Erskine. The
Skanska Group which assumed responsibility over the construction of the project, that began construction processes in 1986, also took management responsibility in renovating pre-existing infrastructure in the area, as well as financing the purchase of the land for which the new structure could be built.
Ralph Erskine, a Swedish-British architect, assumed the role of principal architect and was responsible for the distinctive design of the
Läppstiftet. Erskine became recognised for his core focuses upon "user participation" and "environmental compatibility" with design principles based upon contrasts between different materials in the construction which are all prominent aspects in the distinctive design of the Lilla Bommen building. The traditional designs of Swedish office spaces are characterised by their narrow floor plans. This design is usually composed of single-corridor plans attached to workspaces that outlook the facades of each side of the construction. As discussed within Juriaan van Meel's
The European Office, the limitations of Sweden's characteristic linear office spaces, is within the inefficient ratio between building façade sizes compared to the functional office space inside the building. Erskine overcame cost limitations that pervaded the linear-office design, through a high functionality, flexible, low-maintenance design that enabled an increased floor space by over 20%. Another aspect of the Lilla Bommen's distinct design was its asymmetrical structure that was implemented to achieve height pre-requisites of the construction. The building's height was intended to improve harmonization with both the waterfront nature of the property, as well as existing skyscrapers in the area, including but not limited to the
Gasklockan, and
Hotell Gothia.
Initial response The majority of Swedish office development and planning follows a largely traditional architectural identity. As Meel discusses in
The European Office, amongst many European countries, Sweden similarly follows its "historical urban context", with general attitudes towards skyscrapers being largely negative and connoted with being unrelated to the general design principles of Swedish
cityscapes. This was also emphasised within
Arkitektur, a prominent architectural magazine in Sweden, which Meel also discusses, where the Swedish disdain for multi-storey buildings is mentioned. This has become a large motivating factor for which Swedish linear offices became popularised, which disincentivise the construction of large multi-storey office complexes, bringing rise to the ground-scrapers that have shaped Swedish cityscapes. The construction of the Lilla Bommen brought rise to these negative pre-existing social attitudes towards the construction of taller buildings. Further discussed by Meel, is the influence of "democratically orientated" town planning in Swedish culture, that has enabled a greater voice of the people in the formation of Swedish towns. The difficulties for architects arise due to these new considerations that must be made when proposing designs, that factor not only the "interests of investors" and "architectural aesthetics" but also the increasing voice of the people in building design. This voice can be clearly emphasised by the Lilla Bommen's
ground-scraper design, being far smaller in footprint compared to other international designs. Considering this factor in the design of the Lilla Bommen, designers still faced large amounts negative press and public response to the new construction which resulted in delays to the design procedure for both the architects and investors. One of the main criticisms against the implementation of large high-rising designs has been the naturally low population densities within European countries. In Sweden, a large emphasis on outward development away from inner-cities has been one of the main results of this lower population density, and served to catalyse a large proportion of negative attitudes towards the construction of taller office buildings such as the Lilla Bommen. == Construction process ==