Bridging the past with the future, the urban with the natural, infrastructure with human delight.
Urbanism in the 21st century faces a complex web of interconnected challenges. Unlike in earlier centuries when the focus was primarily on expansion, infrastructure, or industrialization today’s urban issues are deeply entwined with climate change, social equity, digital transformation, and human well-being.
But how can we distill these diverse challenges into a single catalyst: one that not only offers solutions but also prepares our environment for the uncertainties to come? What is the missing ingredient that can address them all while being widely embraced?
To explore this, we turn to Malmö’s urban infrastructure and ask a few essential questions: Will future generations admire its clarity of function and its modernist ethos, purpose-built and stripped of ornament? Will they appreciate its solutions to problems of scale, terrain, and speed, solutions that were unimaginable in the past? Or will they, more likely, express ambivalence, and in many cases, critique Western European modernist urban design, and Malmö’s implementation in particular?
They may lament the disruption caused by massive rail lines cutting through green valleys and residential neighborhoods. They may question the loss of natural harmony and the erosion of civic life at the heart of architectural scene. And they will undoubtedly seek a better balance: one that embraces proportion, contrast, unity, and surprise. All working in concerts evoke pleasure, admiration, and awe.
This is precisely what Venustas Reclaimed seeks to address. While there is much to admire in the region’s technical innovation and clarity of purpose, the neglect of venustas (beauty and delight) in many urban developments is apparent. Yet aesthetic appeal is not just superficial; it is essential to elevating human experience. Beauty has the potential to become a catalyst for environmental resilience amid rapid urbanization.
| LOCATION | Malmö, Sweden |
| YEAR | 2025 |
| CLIENT | Confidential |
| STATUS | Competition |
| PROGRAM | Masterplan |
| PROJECT ARCHITECT | Julian Beqiri |
As demographics shift and aging populations face growing mental health challenges, urban stress and declining well-being have become central concerns. Venustas Reclaimed proposes a humanistic and poetic restoration, one that embraces beauty and sensory delight without abandoning the strengths of modernity. This is not about surface decoration, but about design that resonates emotionally and intellectually, blending science with justice, nature with culture, and fostering small-scale interventions that support both people and the planet.
In dialogue with the modernist European city, Venustas Reclaimed seeks to answer a fundamental question: how can we rebalance our longing for the natural world with the infrastructural power needed to serve a highly modernized society?
The architectural triad firmitas, utilitas, venustas (strength, function, and beauty) is reimagined here through adaptive reuse. In this vision, heavy infrastructure is not demolished but transformed: its surfaces reinterpreted as new terrains. The result? A massive urban park that sits atop what was once a barrier, now serving as a bridge between past and future, city and nature, infrastructure and human delight.
Venustas Reclaimed reflects a broader movement centered on sustainability, community enrichment, and cultural identity, and its transformations symbolize the city’s evolving future over the coming decades. The project is clearly structured into phases: The first phase responses to the most pressing needs like constructing a long-term water basin which will respond primarily to flooding due to increased runoff and the inability of the ground to absorb excess water. In subsequent stages, the train tracks will be covered and gradually transformed into a public park that directly dives into the urban heart of Hyllie. Repurposing infrastructure such as railways into green spaces offers an innovative way to integrate nature into the urban landscape. This transformation not only adds to a significant cultural landmark but also acts as a catalyst for economic growth. It is expected to attract tourism, stimulate real estate development, and support local businesses.
Considering nature and society as two separate entities would be the first step on the way to reevaluating our positioning towards nature; towards our growing hegemony of control over its resources, and further, our competence to intervene through the process of building. This should certainly not be seen as semiotic and semantic veils which only temporarily hide humanity’s relentless engagement of alienating the environment.
Subsequent phases will introduce residential developments that aim to raise living standards and enhance the area’s overall appeal. The waterfront housing blocks are expected to significantly improve livability, drawing more young residents who will benefit from both natural landscapes and nearby cultural amenities. At the heart of the new park, an art museum will be constructed, surrounded by a variety of sports facilities. This marks the most intensive phase of urban densification, responding to both growing market demand and a long-term regional vision.
Phases
Hyllie is poised to become a prime example of adaptive reuse—an approach that creatively reimagines existing structures to preserve history while addressing the needs of modern urban life.