The London office of SOM has beaten four other finalists, including Zaha Hadid and Ian Simpson, in the contest to design one of the tallest buildings in Scandinavia.The practice also saw off Manuelle Gautrand Architecture of France and Sweden¡¯s Wingårdh arkitektkontor to land the project for a 230-meter mixed-use tower in Gothenburg.

More than 50 firms from around the world entered the contest, organized by the Swedish Association of Architects, the city¡¯s planning department and developers Älvstranden Utveckling, for the waterfront project on the North River Bank next to the Lindholmen Science Park.

Dubbed ¡°the Polestar,¡± SOM¡¯s victorious proposal will house a mixture of homes ranging from single story flats to loft-style apartments and duplexes.

The tower, which will sit within a cluster of mid-rise towers, will be topped with an observation deck.

Working with Copenhagen-based architects Entasis, SOM has also drawn up a master plan for a ¡°highly animated 143,000 square-meter mixed-use district¡± around the centerpiece tower.

For more on this story, go to the Architects¡¯ Journal.