At last, a solution for Slussen: Foster's simple vision proves a winner.

Slussen. A historic trading post, a passage of military importance, a barrier between the working classes and the bourgeoisie. Add to that, a persistent topic of Stockholm City Hall debates. No one now can keep track of how many plans for Slussen's renovation have been submitted, revised, rejected - and all because no architect has yet managed to seize the magic of this symbolic site, where the fresh water from Lake Malaren meets the salty strains of Saltsjon, at the very heart of the Swedish capital.

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Five shortlisted development proposals have now been reduced to one. The five included Danish firm Bjarke Ingels Group, the Swede Gert Wingardh and the flamboyant Jean Nouvel. Judging by Stockholm's press, the Parisian was favourite - not so much for his entry (which consisted of two huge inhabited bridges), it seemed, as for his Swedish girlfriend, the youthful architect Mia Hagg, listed as co-author of the project.

About Norman Foster, the other international celebrity in the shortlist, little was written. This was unfair because, while Nouvel's proposal was excessively complex, Foster's was strikingly well structured. Where Nouvel had tried to squeeze in as many functions and finesses as was humanly possible, Foster peeled away the superfluous until nothing remained but the most essential.

His overriding aim was clear: by sweeping away the gigantic 1935 traffic complex - the concrete lid that totally ruins north and south coastal stretches - he proposed to restore the view of Stockholm's prime asset: water.

From this starting point he orchestrated a fascinating water landscape. Above the old lock he scattered pedestrian bridges hither and thither following the flow of the site; one sprang from the ferry terminal, another leapt from the bus station, a third from the subway and Gotgatan parade. And instead of Nouvel's numerous unspecific spaces, he proposed the creation of two classic squares, an open one down by the quayside and an enclosed, covered square near the Nicodemus Tessin-designed city museum from 1663 - the latter a reference, perhaps, to his own glazed courtyard at the British Museum in London.

It proved to be a winning concept. When the city planning committee recently presented their final verdict it was Foster who carried the day. British pragmatism had triumphed over French prolixity. A brave decision, considering the views of the press - and yet not so, because only the most basic elements now remained of Foster's vision. The Swedish authorities had managed to edit down the rest in their desperate efforts to cut the project to fit the prevailing recession.

The greatest loss is the landmark rosette that was intended to soar up from the water. Two bridges were planned to skim the surface before swinging up and out, offering at their peak all that makes Slussen unique: openness and panoramic views, contrasts of height, flow of people, the meeting of town and archipelago. Slussen is due to be ready by 2018. Believe it if you will.

www.stockholm.se/slussen