Subtopia is a production hub for art and creativity in Alby, Botkyrka, run by the local muncipality. Housed in the former production facilities of LM Ericsson’s dairy farm in Alby, it’s a place with high ceiling and space for experimentation. LM Ericsson (1846-1926) was the entrepreneur that brought phones into the lives of people in Sweden and Northern Europe.
Yesterday I joined a guided tour of the facilities, led by three ladies who shared their knowledge about the past and enthusiasm for the present of Subtopia, Alby Gård, and Gula Villan. Alby Gård (Alby Manor) is the main building, empty since 2014. Gula Villan (The Yellow Villa) now houses Boodla, a community garden that also runs a gardening school.
About 20 people showed up for the tour, most with more grey hair than me. Some were distant relatives of LM Ericsson, some have lived in Botkyrka for a lifetime, or like me, long enough to wonder about the history of these prominent buildings of our neighbourhood.
We didn’t get to go inside, but on such a sunny day in June, that was perfectly ok. I still do hope to see the room in the top of the tower that LM Ericsson used for his personal office. We also didn’t tour Cirkus Cirkör, but this is a place I’m very familiar with after my kids attending their courses for many years.
I had read up on the local history so I knew the stories about Gustaf Dalén and the poo processing facility poetically renamed Alby Stadion. Still, I learned how Subtopia turned into a hub bustling with creativity and art, how Gula Villan became a community garden, and why Alby Gård is vacant to this day. The interiors are not safe and need renovation to be suited for new activities. You can be romantic about all these gifts left to us from the past, but modern regulations require accessible and energy efficient public buildings, not narrow wooden stairs and rooms heated by tile ovens. Let’s instead appreciate the many places where historic buildings have been repurposed and filled with new life. Like Hågelby and Subtopia.
The name Subtopia allures to a utopia in the suburb. On this sunny day in June, it surely was.
