Stockholm's most beautiful & distinguished meeting place

The history of Östermalms Saluhall extends over three centuries and is still one of Stockholm's most beautiful and distinguished meeting places today. On March 5, 2020, the historic food hall was reopened after four years of renovation. The top of the corner tower at the main entrance is crowned by the Hermes' Hat, the Greek symbol of commerce. In this newsletter we will take a peek at the newly re-opened food hall.

If you want to see more details, click on the pictures and they will open in a larger format.

Enjoy!
 

No winner of the architect competition

The construction of a food hall was part of the plans for the transformation of Stockholm in the late 1800s, when the rural area of Ladugårdslandet was completely rebuilt in creating the fashionable Östermalm neighborhood.

At the quaint square, Östermalmstorg, a total of SEK 1 million was allocated for the construction of a large food hall, and at the same time an architectural competition was announced. A total of ten proposals were submitted, but none of them met the discerning builders' satisfaction.

Instead, two relatively young architects were awarded the assignment. Isaac Gustaf Clason and Kasper Salin drew inspiration from their educational trips to northern Germany, Italy and France in the mid-1880s. There they had seen many examples of exciting brick-based architecture and pioneering cast iron construction techniques.

 

Built in record time

Building permission requests were submitted on March 13, 1888 and were approved only three days later. The existing buildings on the site were demolished in April-May and the foundation work began on June 1. Three weeks later the foundation was inspected and completed. After a construction period of only six months, Östermalms Saluhall was inaugurated on November 30, 1888 in the presence of King Oscar II.

 

Back to the original

The building is a mix between a castle and an orangery of impressive dimensions with an enveloping warm red brick exterior produced in Börringe in Sweden's Skåne region. On the facade balusters, 32 towers at the top of the turrets (the narrow round towers) in bricks have now been recreated to mimic the original appearance of the food hall.

In the new food hall, several restaurants and cafés have been relocated to gain entrance directly from the street. Previously, the large gable windows were partially covered. Now they have been given new glass so that the arc shape appears in the same way as the original.

 

Food hall for sale

To allow continued business for the traders during renovation, a temporary structure was erected by architect firm, Tengboms. It opened in early 2016 and has since then served about 2.4 million visitors per year. Thanks to a smart design, it can be easily dismantled and reused elsewhere. After the summer, the City of Stockholm will sell the temporary food hall and then restore the square to its original design. So, if you have always dreamed of having your own food hall, here is your chance!

On the go at the entrance

A new feature in the main entrance of the hall is the artwork "Up, up and away", which was created by sculptor Fredrik Wretman and represents a leg in mid-jump.

Much of the new is not visible

Several improved solutions for waste handling, warehousing, loading and goods reception have been installed in the food hall. A new waste transport vacuum system located under the street a short distance from the hall can now handle up to eight cubic meters of compressed food waste. In numbers, this means that goods deliveries to the hall will decrease to one quarter and the waste collection to one fifth.

The basement has been transformed into a bright and functional workplace for the food hall's staff with new dressing rooms, toilets and higher ceilings. But all this is not visible to the general public. What you, as a visitor, mainly will notice is improved accessibility with new elevators and ramps.

Inspiration from the Eiffel Tower

The lightweight cast iron construction technique for creating more space and taller ceilings was developed and had its breakthrough during the second half of the 1800s. This type of construction was used widely for railway stations, food halls and exhibition halls as well as for larger greenhouses and, not least, the remarkable Eiffel Tower.

Östermalms Saluhall’s cast iron frame was manufactured at Motala Workshop and is today one of Stockholm's oldest and best preserved. The food hall has been given the highest cultural classification by the Stockholm City Museum, which means that it has an extremely high cultural-historical value.

Color and proverbs are back from the past

Great efforts have been made to take advantage of the cultural-historical values of the building. You will recognize some of them, like the beautiful wood carvings on the vendor stands and the design on the vendor’s signs. More than a hundred years of over painting has been removed and the food hall has been restored with the same colors and decorations as in 1888. Most notable are all the proverbs that have been recreated and that provides a thought-provoking frieze around the entire hall.

 

New balcony with nice view

The food hall's floor plan is restored to the star-shaped arrangement from 1888. Balconies have been built along a long side and a short side of the hall. Here, high above the market stands, you have the best view of the food hall. The balconies will serve as dining places for a couple of upstairs restaurants that are to be opened.

Special lighting for Lucia

The new food hall has a completely new lighting system that is fine tuned to eight different scenes during the day, and with a special design just for the Lucia celebration on December 13. Several luminaires, such as the black swan neck luminaire on the stands, have been specially developed for the renovation project.

Östermalms Saluhall is one of the best in the world

In a global competition, Östermalms Saluhall, has been named the world's 7th best food hall. The award was presented in 2007 by the prestigious and award-winning American food magazine Bon Appétit. Among the others in the top-10 list are the food halls in Tokyo and Budapest.

Edvard Blom, a Swedish authority on culinary enjoyment, notes: “There are a lot of good food halls that I have visited around the world, but Östermalms Saluhall is definitely one of the most fantastic.”

 

Eat, drink and “fika” of the best

Today there are 17 vendors in the food hall. Most are family owned businesses that have been operating here for several generations. In the new food hall, restaurants and cafes have been provided with more space. If you are craving something scrumptious when you browse among the stands, you can enjoy delicacies from the sea at Lisa Elmqvist (above) or experience a real Swedish “fika” (coffee break) at Paula's Café (below).

 

Like an illuminated pearl

The external lighting highlights the building's beautiful materials and architectural qualities at night. In some places, the building stands out as an illuminated gem against the surroundings. As soon as you get a little closer you start to discover all the beautiful details in the facade.

 

Lasse Olsson Photo photographing and filming architecture, interior design, and lighting. My newsletter is published 6–8 times a year and presents photographed projects as well as reports from furniture fairs in Stockholm and Milan.

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