BIG and NOD solved the "black hole" of Stockholm

The Slussen district is currently one of the busiest transport arteries in Stockholm, Sweden. After many years of chaotic dominance, a solution to the dire traffic situation was provided by a tandem of "short-named" architectural studios: BIG (Denmark) and NOD (Sweden).
The project's task was not only to solve the difficult traffic situation but also to restore the connection between the historic part of Glama Stan and the opposite district of Södermalm.
The lessons learned from a long series of previous unsuccessful attempts to solve Slussen's traffic woes led the authors to create a singular mass in which they define and organize individual forms of transport into layers.
Slussen has been dubbed a black hole in Stockholm by local residents due to the absolute dominance of cars, which have completely pushed cyclists and pedestrians out.
The Denmark-Swedish team of architects privileges cyclists and pedestrians in their project, offering them unimpeded movement along with a rich array of newly designed public spaces and services throughout the entire area in question.
The design brings Slussen back to life in the city, creating a place where residents, tourists, merchants, and artists can coexist with the needs and demands of intense automobile, maritime, and rail transport.
The strength of the solution's concept lies in its continuity, fluidity, and opportunities for free movement that the landscape of intertwining ramps offers. The endless stream of vehicles is directed consistently beneath the undulating waves of pedestrian paths and bike lanes. Thanks to this simple step, the authors were able to free up a large portion of the project's total area and transform it into an attractive part of the urban center.
The basis of the transportation solution concept was initially proposed by the Nyrens Architktkontor studio as part of an architectural competition announced a few years ago. Their solution also involved the vertical arrangement of various forms of transport (pedestrians and cyclists along with public facilities at the upper level, beneath which run the lines for automobile and rail transport). These two parallel worlds were connected only by emergency staircases and elevators. The new design adopts this principle and further transforms it into the undulating landscape of organized ramps, allowing maximum freedom of movement for visitors.
Pedestrian zones connect to the existing promenades and are enriched with numerous new public spaces equipped with cafés, kiosks, and a variety of shops.
The arrangement and resulting shaping of the waves themselves were primarily defined by the desire for maximum natural daylight illumination of all areas of the structure. Where this is not possible, sunlight penetrates through circular skylights, which become glowing lagoons in the middle of the park after dark. The overall expression and atmosphere of the complex change depending on the time of day and the season, offering both residents and visitors a new attraction that seeks to bring life back to this forgotten corner of the city.

animation - http://www.big.dk/video/projects/slu/swedish/index.html