Abandoned & Industrial Photography

by Björn Sahlberg

Arenastaden
innan
Arenastaden

Picknick i jordgubbsland.

Hej!

[SE] Välkommen till Dalvägens industriområde i Solna innan det omvandlades till Arenastaden med Friends Arena (numera Strawberry Arena) och Mall of Scandinavia som huvudattraktioner. Rivningen av det gamla området påbörjades under 2007 och Arenastaden som helhet färdigställdes kring 2015.

Under omvandlingen jobbade jag i närheten och stannade ofta till för ett foto eller flera. Självklart blev det söndagsutflykter också. Våren 2013 visades ett urval av bilderna på Solna biblioteks utställning Innan arenan, efter Råsunda i samarbete med Solna kommun och Solna hembygdsförening.

[EN] Welcome to Arenastaden, aka Solna Badlands, a former industrial zone in Solna, north of Stockholm. The photos were taken during the years before it was demolished and eventually became Friends Arena (now Strawberry Arena), Mall of Scandinavia, shiny offices and new housing. From start to finish the process took almost eight years.

At the time I worked nearby so there were plenty of opportunities to follow the transition. Of course it had enough qualities for Sunday excursions as well. A number of the photos were selected for the exhibition Innan arenan, efter Råsunda at the Solna public library in spring 2013, a collaboration with the Solna community association and Solna municipality.

Just Passing By

Overview

Technicalities

Links

Arenastaden at Fabege

Innan arenan, efter Råsunda

Exhibition Print

Stockholm Industrial

Sign for the scrapyard made from a recycled sign at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. October 2007.

Skrot (scrap). 'nuff said. October 2007.

if you're waiting for a sign that's corrugated tainted types

All-recycling sign at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. October 2007.

“All-recycling”. October 2007.

if you're waiting for a sign that's corrugated the fall fenced out tainted types

Have a seat. Have a foot bath. Have a badsofa. October 2007.

badsofas mmm ... reflections

Reflecting over what's to come at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. April 2008.

Reflecting over what's to come. April 2008.

mmm ... reflections

Scribble inside one of the freight cars: “SJ, HBG, 25-9-84” quite likely meaning “Statens järnvägar, Helsingborg, September 25, 1984”. October 2007.

have a nice freight rust in peace tasty textures

Abandoned freight car at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. October 2007.

Abandoned freight car. October 2007.

have a nice freight rust in peace

Nicely faded vintage tags from the late 80s by Maze (LID) at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. October 2007.

Nicely faded vintage tags from the late 80s by Maze (LID) and unidentified on one of the abandoned freight cars. October 2007.

graffiti have a nice freight rust in peace

Scrapped Scania 112H truck grill and abandoned freight cars in the back at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. October 2007.

Defunct Scania 112H truck grill with the abandoned freight cars in the back. October 2007.

end of the line have a nice freight off the rails road's end

=| ... October 2007.

futtigt tiled woe paneling

Industriområdet med det blå huset. October 2007.

stairway to ... that's corrugated

Scrapped Steel City sign by a corrugated steel wall at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. November 2007.

“Steel City”. November 2007.

if you're waiting for s sign tainted types that's corrugated

November, November ... at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. November 2007.

November, November ... November 2007.

barreled mmm ... reflections lines of power

Unhinged at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. November 2007.

Unhinged. November 2007.

a door left open that's corrugated

An abandoned sofa from around 1990 at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. November 2007.

1990 is back and it brought a very naughty sofa. November 2007.

badsofas igkea

Abandoned Buick Dyna Flow from 1950 at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. November 2007.

“Rain Man” spray painted on the back of an abandoned US vintage car. I'm no expert but I Googled this to be a Buick Dyna Flow from 1950. November 2007.

road's end that's corrugated

The dark interor of a shabby office with Van Gogh's 'Cafe Terrace at Night' on the wall at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. November 2007.

The pallet supplier's office. Van Gogh's “Cafe Terrace at Night” was unexpected. November 2007.

lost art

Vintage graffiti by Jason on an abandoned freight car at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. November 2007.

Vintage graffiti by Stockholm old-timer Jason (still active as of 2025!) on one of the abandoned freight cars. November 2007.

end of the line graffiti have a nice freight mmm ... reflections

Tags from the 80s and early 90s by Stockholm veterans Weed, Asea, Sin, Resue and others on abandoned freight car at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. November 2007.

Classic tagging by Stockholm veterans Weed, Asea, Sin, Rescue and others. All dating back to the 80s and very early 90s. November 2007.

end of the line graffiti have a nice freight

A old wheelbarrel, two shovels, a broken shopping baket and two dumpsters on a winter day at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. January 2008.

Logistics. January 2008.

winter-r-r

A stack of old paint cans and car tyres at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. January 2008.

Paint shop. January 2008.

thats corrugated winter-r-r

A trashed copy machine in the snow at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. January 2008.

Accept no copies. January 2008.

winter-r-r

Office buildings in winter at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. January 2008.

Office January 2008.

winter-r-r

An excavator with a grapple at work in a metal scrapyard at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. December 2007.

A Christmas day's work at the scrapyard. December 2007.

rust in peace

An abandoned work overall stuffed into a human shape with old cables at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. March 2008.

Not bad, for a human. March 2008.

débris élégant

An old mattress curled up in a yoga pose at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. February 2008.

Yoga mat. February 2008.

débris élégant fenced out

An abandoned freight car photographed with a Holga at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. June 2008.

Avstigning för samtliga. För evigt. June 2008.

end of the line have a nice freight Holga 120S off the rails

Dumped sofa photographed with a Holga at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. June 2008.

Yet another dumped sofa thru the plastic lens of the Holga. June 2008.

badsofas Holga 120S

An old soft chair by an abandoned freight car at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. June 2008.

The throne. June 2008.

end of the line have a nice freight uneasy chair

Part of a dumped sofa with a woven floral pattern at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. June 2008.

Part of a a floral patterned badsofa by the roadside. June 2008.

badsofas pattern recognition

Abandoned couch arranged with a discarded lamp by a grassy roadside at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. July 2008.

Two for the price of one! Badsofa and Badlamp combo. July 2008.

badsofas badlamps fenced out

Thin wooden stick with “Corner sportsfield”. (“hörna spelplan” in Swedish) written on it at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. July 2008.

”Hörna spelplan”. (“Corner sportsfield”.) Seems like all is set for the construction of the arena ... July 2008.

concrete crumbles

Two seagulls sitting on top of a tall lamp post by an abandoned 'Loffes' lot at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. July 2008.

Sentinels. July 2008.

if you're waiting for a sign tainted types that's corrugated

Very young Birch tree sprouting through the asphalt on an empty lot at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. July 2008.

Treeling of Sólná. July 2008.

björk fanclub

An abandoned sofa with a discarded wooden pallet and various trash by a fence at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. May 2009.

The very bad sofas keep dropping in! May 2009.

badsofas fenced out

An old sofa dumped on industrial rail road tracks at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. November 2009.

Bad, bad sofa on track and a wee shy ditto toilet in the back. November 2009.

badsofas badtoilets end of the line night shift off the rails

Discarded toilet next to a huge cable drum at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. November 2009.

A bad, bad toilet cught in the wild. November 2009.

badtoilets night shift

Concrete prefabs for the construction of the arena at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. May 2010.

A collection of concrete prefabs for the arena. May 2010.

night shift

Campers inside an old storage hall at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. May 2010.

An old storage hall used as a site for campers. May 2010.

crash in a camper night shift

Night shot of a corrugated wall with two windows lit at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. May 2010.

The camper site storage hall, in verso. May 2010.

night shift that's corrugated

Abandoned easy chair with an empty beer bottle by the side of the road at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. May 2010.

Badsofa, with leftovers. May 2010.

badsofas uneasy chair

Handtvätt and kundparkering with an ironing board and a pile of wood scrap outside an auto shop at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. June 2008.

Auto shop signage. June 2008.

Holga 120S if you're waiting for a sign

Lonely railroad crossing sign with the famous area Blåkulla at a distance at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. May 2010.

At the crossroads. The famous area Blåkulla at a distance. May 2010.

if you're waiting for a sign off the rails

Semi modern office building under demolition at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. January 2009.

Nearby office buildings being taken care of. January 2009.

bricks at werk concrete crumbles demolition watch

Concrete poles used for the ground work at the construction site at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. August 2008.

Plenty of concrete poles were used for the ground work in the entire area. August 2008.

columns construction watch

at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. January 2011.

The Friends Arena (now Strawberry Arena) is taking shape. January 2011.

construction watch fenced out winter-r-r

Arenastaden under construction in Solna, Stockholm. January 2011.

Arenastaden as we know it today is taking shape. January 2011.

construction watch winter-r-r

Just Passing By ...

A storm is approaching at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. June 2009.

A storm is coming. June 2009.

tempting tempest

Winter stillness at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. February 2009.

Winter stillness. February 2009.

winter-r-r

The Mall of Scandinavia (now Strawberry Arena) taking shape at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. May 2014.

The Mall of Scandinavia (now Strawberry Arena) taking shape. May 2014.

construction watch

Friends Arena / Strawberry Arena at Arenastaden in Solna, Stockholm. May 2014.

Friends Arena / Strawberry Arena to the left, Quality Hotel in the center and the mall-to-be to the right. May 2014.

construction watch

Aerial photo from spring 2008

Overview of the Arenastaden to be as as of spring 2008. © Google

Technicalities

October 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 January 2009 November 2009 May 2009 May 2010 January 2011 April 2013

December 2014

March 2025

Solna Stockholm Uppland Sweden

Hasselblad 500c/m Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8 Zeiss Distagon 50mm f/4 Zeiss Sonnar 250mm f/5.6 Kodak Ektar 100 Kodak Porta 160NC Kodak Porta 160VC Fujifilm Reala 100 Kodak Tri-X at EV 400 Holga 120s Kodak Porta 160VC Nikon AD3 Imacon Flextight Photo

Links

Historien om Mall of Scandinavia på Fastighetsvärlden

Arenastaden at Fabege

Thanks to Innan arenan, efter Råsunda the developer and owner of Arenastaden Fabege discovered my photos from its previous life. As they lacked documentation of the area before the transformation I was approached and a deal was made. They're not as picky with consistent framing and cropping à la true-to-the-original-format as yours truly though ...

Arenastaden photo exhibition at the Fabege Stockholm office.

Innan arenan, efter Råsunda

A selection of my photos were on display at “Innan arenan, efter Råsunda” exhibition at the Solna public library in Stockholm in spring 2013. The exhibition was a collaboration with the Solna community association (hembygdsförening) and Solna municipality (kommun).

All images were printed straight on to 5 mm Forex Smart® boards using a Roland LEJ 640 UV-curing flatbed printer. The final result was very vivid and with a pleasant grain detail. Not overly saturated nor over-sharpened. Print sizes varies between 32 × 32 cm to 80 × 80 cm. Many thanks to the printshop Maxdialog in Bromma and curator Johanna Molvin at Solna kommun who made this exhibition possible! Most of these prints are available for purchase.

Solna kommun's article on the exhibition (screenshot)