Station Värtan is a historic site. A power station has stood here supplying Stockholm with electricity for nearly 120 years. The new gas-insulated switchgear facility (GIS) is to reflect this continuity, operational reliability and pride in the task of delivering electricity to hundreds of thousands of Stockholmers. Just as the technical part of the facility is future-proofed and prepared to be expanded in 40–50 years, the architecture too is to be timeless, with robust materials that grow more beautiful with age. The switchgear, which until now has been an outdoor facility occupying a large area, can through so-called GIS technology be compressed and built into a new building. In this way, valuable land is freed up for other things that this growing district needs. GIS technology means insulating high-voltage lines in gas-filled tubes, which makes it possible to compress the large safety distance required for conventional air-insulated lines. The new facility sits with its eastern façade directly onto Jägmästargatan, which is to be widened with pedestrian and cycle paths. This places new architectural demands, as the building is to fit into the city and become part of the streetscape, while at the same time being a free-standing building with four façades that are to be experienced as interesting both from afar and up close.
