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Kunskapshuset

  • Photo: Emil Nordin
  • Photo: Emil Nordin
  • Photo: Emil Nordin
  • Photo: Emil Nordin
  • Photo: Emil Nordin
  • Photo: Emil Nordin

Jury’s statement - Kunskapshuset:

Like an animal, Kunskapshuset in Gällivare wraps itself around the students, the town and the landscape. A municipal investment in knowledge and wood as two communities become one. With its liberated form and layout, this house of learning generates myriad potential connections to the site, to the rooms, to the building.

 

Kunskapshuset 1.png

 

Kunskapshuset 2.png

Swedish Wood Award

Facts about Kunskapshuset

  • Building type: Public building (school)
  • Location: Gällivare, Lappland
  • Client: Gällivare Kommun
  • Architect: Liljewall & MAF Arkitektkontor
  • Building constractor: Nåiden Bygg
  • Structural engineer: WSP Byggprojektering
  • Year of completion: 2020

Method of construction
The underground garage is made of prefabricated and cast-in-place concrete, while the superstructure combines two systems. The open volumes have glulam frames with a post-and-beam system inspired by Sami crafts. Concrete floors and steel or glulam columns are used in the workshops and classroom areas. The CLT ceilings are supported on upright wooden beams. The external walls are constructed as timber curtain walls finished with glulam cladding.

Description
Two communities will become one when the neighbouring town of Malmberget is largely relocated due to mining and the landslide risk. Following consultation with residents, local businesses and other stakeholders, the municipality has set out a vision to build a “world-class Arctic town”. Kunskapshuset will house the municipality’s upper secondary school and adult learning centre. Inspired by mines and the contours of nature, the six-storey school has been designed as a landmark that tells a story of culture and place. The detailing and design of the façade, coupled with the red glulam, is intended to create the feel of a cultural artefact. In the interior, key wooden features include the large glulam beams and columns, the wooden panelling and the smoked oak block flooring on the black steel staircase that winds up through the entrance hall. The custom furniture further breaks down the scale and reinforces the concept behind the building. A design language, a colour and a structure that engages with Arctic nature, Sami craftsmanship and its traditional patterns.

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