Publication: Model Archive – A Witness to the City, 2023

LANGUAGEEnglish / Swedish
TEXTPedro Ignacio Alonso, Harri Anttila, Carlos Mínguez Carrasco, Olivia Eriksson, Magnus Florin, Kristian Rosengren, Secretary (Helen Runting, Karin Matz & Rutger Sjögrim), Axel Wieder, Malin Zimm
EDITORMalin Pettersson Öberg, Mikaela Steby Stenfalk
GRAPHIC DESIGNJens Andersson
PHOTOGRAPHERKristofer Johnsson
NO. OF PAGES120
FORMAT240 x 180 mm
BINDINGHardcover
PUBLICATION DATEDecember 2023
ISBN (EN)978-91-89270-77-0



Model Archive – A Witness to the City is an interdisciplinary anthology that explores urban design and planning through the collection of models kept at the City Planning Department of Stockholm. The anthology elaborates on questions posed in the film The Model Archive by artist Malin Pettersson Öberg, and from the exhibition of the same name curated by Mikaela Steby Stenfalk at ArkDes – Sweden’s National Centre for Architecture and Design.

In essays and conversations, a dozen authors and dialogue partners reflect on the relationship between model and city, complexities of the urban planning process, housing issues, and more. Who builds the city and for whom? How does the shape of the city relate to the shape of its inhabitants’ lives? And can the archive’s models serve as tools for memory and historiography, as well as for reflecting and challenging the city we now have?

This anthology is the result of a multi-year collaboration between Malin Pettersson Öberg and Mikaela Steby Stenfalk. It was published by the Swedish publisher Arvinius + Orfeus in December 2023. Order the book in Swedish (through Adlibris) or in English (through Arvinius + Orfeus Publishing), or contact Malin Pettersson Öberg for more information.

Photographer: Anja Olofgörs