This master thesis is about a place that has a story to tell. Olsson’s garden came about when Mr Carl Oscar Olsson acquired a piece of land in Landalabergen in the beginning of the 1930's and at that time he started his industrious work of uniting much of Sweden's flora in his garden. Since the very beginning Olsson's garden has played a lot of different rolls in a variety of situations and meant different things for different people.
Today one can find traces from Mr Olsson's life and deeds in the garden. One can also find traces of the dramatic changes that swept through the area as it became more populated starting 1945. At this time Olsson's garden changed its focal point from being one person’s creation to being a place of that era. Sweden's first unit of neighbourhoods, Norra Guldheden, was built around Olsson's garden. The unit of neighbourhoods was built to create a new form of living that should ensure safety, community and democracy and to make sure that humans would not be victims of dangerous mass movement, like the recent events of world war two in Germany and Italy. The heart of a unit of neighbourhood is its centre, the place where people can gather. In the Norra Guldheden neighbourhood, this important place was formed around Olsson's garden, which apparently had enough drawing power to ensure its own future as well as influence the creation of the new township. The Norra Guldheden neighbourhood was thriving during the next couple of decades. Olsson's garden was flourishing, the restaurant was one of the best in town and the whole area was full with children. But with time the scene changed, the children grew up and moved out, demands for larger living quarters went up, the restaurant shut down and the stores started to close up, one by one. And as a result of this, the time of neglect came to Olsson's garden.
Today the Norra Guldheden is an attractive neighbourhood, centrally located and with unique rock outcroppings. But even so, many of the people living here feel a great sadness over the deserted market square and the neglected gardens of Olsson. There are also now plans of adding more housing in the Norra Guldheden area, with one of the suggested building spots being located on the border of Olsson's garden.
This project includes the history of Olsson's garden and also a number of ideas of changes as...
