Welcome to Sweden’s first bicycle house!

Welcome to Västra Hamnen – the Western Harbour – in Malmö, home to Sweden’s first ‘bicycle house’!

Malmö is one of Sweden’s top cities for cycling – and also ranks 6th globally (the Global Bicycle Cities Index). Almost one in three residents here relies on bicycles for their daily commute.

The unique ‘bicycle house’ features 55 apartments and 31 hotel rooms, each offering bike rentals as part of the stay. Traditional car parking spaces have been replaced with facilities tailored to cyclists. 🚲

We met up with one of the residents, Athena, who gave us a tour!

Would you want to live in a place like this? 🏙️

Architect: Siegel
Music: My New Bicycle – Speedy The Spider/Epidemic Sound

‘Hej!’ Welcome to my apartment in the bicycle house. My partner and I wanted to live in Västra Hamnen because it’s so beautiful here during the summer. And we wanted to live close to the sea. And we felt like this house sort of matched our values, wanting to be mostly by foot or by bike. When you arrive to the house on a bike, it’s really easy. There’s a bike path right out the front. The doors at the front are automatic and at the back. So they open for you and you can just walk your bike straight through into the lift. The lifts are made so that they’re big enough that you can have two bikes in there. Then you can just walk your bike straight up to your door and you can hang it outside. There’s also a shared access to electric bikes, cargo bikes, bikes for children that you can just rent for free. They also host annual days where someone can help you fix your bike up if you need to. My favourite parts of the apartment are the exposed concrete. You kind of feel like you’re living in a gallery with the sort of picture frame railings that you can hang art off. The circular windows, like cast in concrete, are super nice. The building’s really made to help you cycle.