Lindholmsallén – Regnbågsgatan, Göteborg 2001

The Pylons along Lindholmsallén
Along Lindholmsallén in Göteborg, there is a series of sculptural obelisks, or so-called pylons, which are part of the spatial design of the stretch from Frihamnen and further along the avenue. The design was executed by Sivert together with artist and colleague Ulrik Samuelson.

The powerful, tall pylons are placed along the almost kilometer-long and approximately 80-meter-wide Lindholmsallén. As a permanent artistic design, they function both as individual sculptural markers and as a unifying rhythm through the urban space. Their vertical forms stand out clearly against the wide avenue and create a visual sequence along the tram track.

The pylons are made of Cor-Ten steel. The material's reddish-brown rust patina is not only an aesthetic choice but can also be interpreted as a conscious connection to Lindholmen's industrial history. The area has a strong connection to Göteborg's shipbuilding and port history and was, until the 1970s, one of the city's most important areas for shipbuilding.
Lindholmen shipyard was a central player, and traces of the industrial era still remain in the form of older buildings and other industrial structures. Several of the older buildings have since been given new functions as offices, restaurants, and cultural activities, creating an urban landscape where older industrial history meets new urban development.

The pylons' material reinforces this relationship between art and place. The rusty surface of the Cor-Ten steel evokes iron, machinery, and the industrial environment that previously characterized Lindholmen. At the same time, the form is purely geometric and monumental, thereby giving the former industrial environment a new artistic interpretation.

In the original design proposal, the pylons were also planned with integrated lighting that would follow vertically along their height. When darkness fell, the light would illuminate the pylons' interior, thereby changing their expression from day to evening and during the darker months of the year. The intended lighting would transform the vertical form into a kind of luminous architectural sign in the urban space.

The design program was dated January 9, 2001, and developed in collaboration with White arkitekter through Anders E. Johansson, and U.
The design also included coloring some of the pylons' sides with geometric patterns. This added a more graphic and artistic expression to the otherwise homogeneous Cor-Ten steel surface.
/JÖ

The client was Göteborgs stadsbyggnadskontor through Jöran Bellman, as well as Norra Älvstranden Utveckling AB. The pylons can therefore be seen as an example of how Sivert's public art connects sculpture, architecture, and urban planning. They function not merely as freestanding artworks but as parts of a larger spatial system, where material, geometry, light, and the industrial history of the place interact.