Re-envisioning Swedens infrastructure

Practice based Research

Launched by ArkDes in collaboration with Ulricehamn Municipality, the project “VERKET” aims to reimagine outdated infrastructure through innovative design and practice-based research.

Built in 1955 and upgraded over the years, the facility has become unsuited to the demands of a growing population and stricter environmental standards. With plans for a new treatment plant underway, local authorities now have the opportunity to repurpose the existing site and its surrounding landscape.

ArkDes and Ulricehamn Municipality invited interdisciplinary teams to propose strategies for the site's future use. Third Nature’s team was selected and will conduct a thorough inventory, analysis, and develop a comprehensive management plan featuring strategy, methodology, and design proposals. The team includes Marge Architects, AKTII, as well as Professor Lone-Pia Bach (Cultural Heritage Restoration), Professor Carola Wingren (Landscape Architecture, SLU), consultant Sven Olof Ahlberg (Building Conservation), and Dr. Eva Dahlström Rittsél (Industrial Heritage Studies), ensuring the project leverages diverse expertise.

Maximizing circular value

Third Nature is proud to provide a strategic and scalable approach to transforming the facility. By focusing on maximizing circular value creation, the initiative is dedicated to repurposing industrial infrastructure in ways that generate lasting environmental, social, and economic benefits. Central to this circular vision is the merging of flora, fauna, water, and the city into a closed-loop system that nurtures both natural ecosystems and urban spaces. This commitment underpins the project’s vision of turning the outdated wastewater treatment plant into a thriving public destination and place of circular growth.

Repurposing industrial infrastucture

VERKET is part of ArkDes’ ongoing practice-based research initiative, which explores how outdated industrial resources can be managed effectively for future urban development. This project, along with previous initiatives like “Commoning the Heritage” and “Power of Places,” is expected to serve as a model for repurposing industrial infrastructure in municipalities across Sweden.

For more information on please visit ArkDes’ website.