Vasastan, Stockholm

Vasastan, or formally Vasastaden, (Swedish for "Vasa town") is a 3.00 km2 large city district in central Stockholm, Sweden, being a part of Norrmalm borough.

The Neo-Renaissance plaster architecture of the middle class residential buildings in southern Vasastaden is highly reminiscent of the Ringstraße in Vienna; the ground floors are dominated by horizontal elements with columns and pilasters above, while accentuated cornices closes the vertical compositions.

In the city plan of 1879, however, the area was divided into two large blocks, which were split up into smaller properties in 1886, on a request from the local landowner, porcelain factory Rörstrand.

The buildings of Birkastan feature oriel windows, towers on the corners, rounded pediments and bright and plain plaster façades with thrifty decorations.

From the monumental eastern entrance, an avenue (Rödabergsgatan) leads west to a round elevated space where a church was originally planned.

The blocks within Röda Bergen are limited to 2–3 floors and most of the backyards are open in one end, which allows for plenty of sun light and series of spaces appealing to the eye.

In contrast to them, the involved architects — including Björn Hedwall, Paul Hedqvist, and Sven Wallander — carefully detailed the façades and gables facing the interior with simple classical ornaments and warm red and yellow colours.

Of the 2.500 flats in the area, many included novelties such as warm and cold water, WC, and even bath tubes, but most of them were small — half of them was a single room with a kitchen or even less.

[4] The flats in Atlas were small — 1–2 rooms and a kitchen — and dark — a result of exploitation and the wide building volumes — but featured modernities such as central heating and bathrooms.