Advice on Parks from Holger Blom, Stockholm

Egon Möller-Nielsen's playground sculptures were the result of a cooperative relationship with Holger Blom, Stockholm’s “City Gardener” (head of the Stockholm Parks Department) from 1938 to 1971. An architect by training, Blom's "tenure coincided with a brilliant period in Swedish landscape architecture. Stockholm became internationally known for its parks and the activities went by the name of 'the Stockholm school'. The regional landscape set the tone of things and was recreated, resulting in a more relaxed style of park design.

Blom formulated his visions in a parks programme:

• Parks open up the city. The park must be an active component of urban development, forming networks through the city, and not just an isolated green oasis.


• The park makes room for outdoor recreation. The park must be a place for movement and exercise, for both young and old. The staffed play park developed during this period.


• The park is a meeting point. The park must be a public space for festivals, concerts and religious and political manifestation. During this period the City of Stockholm established “the Park Theatre”, which still gives summertime performances in Stockholm parks.


• The park preserves nature and nurture. Holger Blom collaborated with many artists, with the result that sculpture became a recurrent feature of Stockholm parks. Particularly deserving of mention is his partnership with Egon Möller-Nielsen, who created several play sculptures for children, such as Tuffsen in Humlegården and The Egg in the Tessin Park. "
  

text and image from the Arkitekturmuseet of Sweden