- It's a great day to inaugurate the first part of the new Clemenstorget. This is Lund's entrance and it is important that the first meeting with Lund is welcoming, says Philip Sandberg (L), chairman of the local council, to SVT Nyheter Skåne.

- This will be the first and last thing you see when you come to Lund or leave. The square is meant to be a stress filter that we so well need in everyday life, says Lund's city gardener, Karl-Oscar Seth.

The trees emerge

The Clemenstorget at the central station in Lund is approximately 7,000 square meters and the design of the new square has been inspired by the Art Nouveau architecture and the neighboring houses from the late 19th century.

The 76 plane trees and lime trees still have a prominent role on the site and have been carefully protected to feel good during the remodeling.

A bright spot

- I'm very pleased. It has been two years of extensive and complex work where we and our landscape architect have taken the trees into account in the smallest detail, says Mikael Anderson, project manager for Lund C.

He lights one of the poles with small spotlights that will shine down through the trees in the dark, to show how things are. The artist Ebba Matz has created a kind of tree grille under the plane trees and lace roofs in the square. She has been inspired by the light play through the tree crowns.

- The square and the trees will be illuminated both from above and from below in the evenings and nights. It creates a shadow play and pattern on the square even at night, which is absolutely fantastic, says landscape architect Karin Sjölin.

Reminiscent of Paris

The heart of Clemenstorget is now covered with a light yellow dolomite stone flour mixed with pumice stone. The pumice stone helps the stone flour to pass water and oxygen to the roots of the trees.

The idea for the yellow gravel comes from the Tuileries Park in Paris and is supposed to light up the square in the summer when the foliage of the trees shadow the surface.

- The square becomes the face of the city. Ground cover, accessibility, greenery and lighting should interact to create both beauty and function, says city gardener Karl-Oscar Seth.

Price tag so far

- Here there are meeting places for spontaneous meetings, play pavilions and seating adapted for children, and there are outdoor seating. There are more open spaces and transparency now than they used to be. This means that the new Clemenstorget will feel like a safe place, says Philip Sandberg (L), chairman of the municipal council in Lund.

The construction cost for the redevelopment of the square is approximately SEK 29 million. In addition, VA SYD's costs of about 5 million.

The second stage of the Clemenstorget redevelopment is done in conjunction with the renovation of Lund C and the station area.