South Tower (Swedish: " Söder Torn") is a high-rise building located on Fatburstrappan 18, next to Fatbursparken on

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...

in Stockholm. The building has a height of about above the ground including the "crown" and consists of 25 floors. The Söder Torn complex contains three additional buildings, including one that abuts Medborgarplatsen. Collectively, the buildings contain 172 condominium apartments and 5 businesses. The South Tower itself has 85 apartments and one business. A garage contains parking for both cars and motorcycles.

Site History and Building Description

The Tower's site was previously a lake called Fatburen, which had formed due to isostatic uplift after the last glaciation. By the 1700s, the lake had become polluted due to urban expansion, and by 1860 the lake had been filled in order to create a rail yard and train station. The rail yard was closed in 1980 and the neighborhood re-developed into a residential district during the period 1985-1995 which features a large number of buildings in the

post-modern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experi ...

style. A new train station was built underground in close proximity (300 meters) to the South Tower. The Tower was originally designed by Danish architect Henning Larsen to have 40 floors. However, Larsen left the project in protest after Stockholm's city planning office forced the removal 16 floors from the building plan. The floor plan is octagonal with five apartments on each level. The tower tapers with increasing height. The facades are clad with red granite slabs. In the centrally located stairwell there are two elevators and a spiral staircase. The 23rd and 24th floors have three multi-story apartments, and the top floor is a common party room with glass walls and a panoramic view of the city. Built by construction company JM and finance company SBC, it opened in 1997.

Gallery

File:Söder torn dec 2014a.jpg, The top room and the "crown" File:Söder torn dec 2014b.jpg, Facade study File:Söder torn dec 2014c.jpg, Windows study File:Sodertornet at night.jpg, The South Tower at night File:Nana fontaine (Niki de Saint Phalle).JPG, ''La Fontaine aux quatre Nanas''

Residential Qualities

The top floor of the building is a glass-enclosed party room and terrace with panoramic views of Stockholm. There is an indoor swimming pool and sauna on a lower level. A fountain sculpture at the Tower's base, ''La Fontaine aux quatre Nanas'' by French-American artist

Niki de Saint Phalle Niki de Saint Phalle (; born Catherine Marie-Agnès Fal de Saint Phalle; 29 October 193021 May 2002) was a French sculptor, painter, filmmaker, and author of colorful hand-illustrated books. Widely noted as one of the few female monumental sculp ...

, attracts many viewers due to its styling and location adjacent to a heavily used path between Stockholm Södra station and the plaza Medborgarplatsen.

Criticism

The development at Fatburen district was poorly received by some architectural critics, with one review specifically highlighting the South Tower as "a monument to post-modernism as a playhouse for urban development."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soder Torn Skyscrapers in Stockholm Residential skyscrapers Residential buildings in Sweden Postmodern architecture 1997 establishments in Sweden 1990s establishments in Stockholm

Site History and Building Description

Gallery

Residential Qualities

Criticism

See also

References