Architecture Projects: Skeppsbron is the first in a series of exhibitions that brings together some of Sweden’s most talented architects to consider the question: What do we want our city to be?

Speculation is crucial in architectural practice and a central role of the architect is to think differently. Architecture Projects: Skeppsbron highlights the artistic methods and visionary ideas of eight Stockholm-based architects and studios to propose new possibilities for Skeppsbron – a large waterfront site that stretches across Gamla Stan, from Slussen to the Royal Palace.

As Stockholm’s oldest quay, Skeppsbron and Skeppsbrokajen have a unique history as the ”shop window” of Sweden: a hub for the import and export of goods, a marketplace, a thoroughfare, and a metaphorical bridge between the capital and the rest of Europe. Between people, ideas and commerce, this was once Stockholm’s foremost site of exchange. Although it still stands as a defining image of the city, it has come to be dominated by car parks and underused public space.

Through drawings, models, words and references, these eight visions consider possible futures for Skeppsbron as an architectural, symbolic, and public landscape. They celebrate the architect’s ability to address the city as a layered, multifaceted environment capable of absorbing unexpected proposals and, together, can help us to see its potential in a new light.