Docks has one foot in history and one in the future

A building - a sculpture. At the entrance to Malmö, two slender towers rise up that, from certain angles, appear to merge. Built on one of the foundations of the Kockum crane, Docks marks a new era in the city's development with an architecture that is clearly rooted in the site.

The Kockum Crane was once the symbol of Malmö as an industrial and shipbuilding city, until it was shipped away in the early 2000s. Now Docks stands in its place in the new Dockan district, but the link to the shipyard era is clear. Folded facades in hot-dip galvanized steel allude to ship hulls with glittering salt crystals; wooden interiors are reminiscent of cozy cabins, and the glazed balconies glow in the night like the control cabins on the cranes from the Kockum era.

- The design is rooted in the history of the site, but is also clearly contemporary. It is a building that both tells a story and points to the future," says Joachim Lundquist, head of architecture and architect in charge of the assignment at FOJAB, the office that designed Docks for JM after winning the competition.

Now completed and occupied, Docks has received high marks from residents, especially for its architecture and first impressions.

The special silhouette that is visible from afar serves as an identity marker for Dockan and a point of orientation in the city. To the east, towards the harbor basin, the building is at its highest, 26 floors, and then steps down to 18 floors towards Dockplatsen and the guest harbor. The five-storey base connects to the street life and links to the human scale. It creates a sheltered urban space where the design of the balconies helps to break up and dampen the wind from the sea.

Docks houses 157 apartments of varying sizes, from one to five rooms, allowing for a mix of accommodation. The shape of the towers means that all apartments have views in at least two directions, a quality often reserved for larger homes. On the roof of the base, a green courtyard spreads out with terraces, seating areas, winding paths and wooden bridges. To the southwest, there is a sheltered sun shelf overlooking the water, where a lush beach landscape takes shape.

Docks is Nordic Swan Ecolabeled and meets requirements such as low energy consumption, good choice of materials and good indoor environment. An easily accessible bicycle room with a workshop and a view of the sea encourages people to choose the bike in everyday life.

Read more about Docks and see more photos here.