Stockholm brings coziness outdoors with special “winter places”

The city inaugurated twelve of these spots to encourage people to still feel at home while on the street

The term “Winter place” can sound kind of ambiguous if said out of context, but the city of Stockholm has just inaugurated twelve such spots on its streets as a way to make pedestrians on the street feel cosy.

A dozen of the city's streets and squares are dressed with decorated winter trees, warm and energy-efficient lighting and comfortable seating. The opening took place on one of this year's new winter walking streets - Skånegatan.

Keep the urbanscape attractive during the frosty season

Each winter location has its own design and solution. On Skånegatan, for example, there is a new playful installation where children and adults can explore the universe together. The installation Milky Way is created by Fredrik Matz and Anna Jogefalk at Outer Space Arkitekter and is part of a collaboration between the director and theatre director Suzanne Osten, Outer Space Arkitekter and the design agency Studio Doms.

“The winter places have become a cosy feature of winter Stockholm and I hope that as many people as possible visit several of them. We mainly work with furnishing the places, planting winter plants and lighting them in different ways to create safe streets and squares with lots of warmth and light,” explained Pia Karlsson, project manager at the traffic office in the city of Stockholm, who attended the inauguration.

She added: “The idea with the winter places is that we should be able to use the street environment in new ways, even in winter when it might be helpful to stop and just be. I hope that these winter spots can contribute to more people meeting in the city.”