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Henning Larsen’s ‘forest canopy-like’ World of Volvo opens in Sweden

2024-04-16T11:52:00-04:00

The Henning Larsen-designed World of Volvo has opened in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Housed under an expressive timber canopy, the 237,000-square-foot building will serve as an experience center for the car brand Volvo, designed around “Scandinavian values of freedom of movement, access to nature, and openness and inclusion.”

Image credit: Rasmus Hjortshoj

The main timber structure is formed of glulam and cross-laminated timber, designed as three tree-trunk-like columns that fan out to carry the entire load of the roof while “enveloping visitors in a welcoming forest-like canopy.” The center’s round structure is intended to encourage visitors to create their own journeys through the building’s interior and exterior.

Image credit: Rasmus Hjortshoj

Inside, a series of spaces are contained to host cultural events, talks, and conferences, accommodating up to 1,100 people. Anchoring the structure is a 485,000-square-foot exhibition space...

Henning Larsen details computational design process behind mass timber 'World of Volvo' center

2023-05-02T17:30:00-04:00

Henning Larsen and Volvo are working on the design of a new consumer-facing experience center called The World of Volvo ahead of its debut early next year in the automaker’s hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Henning Larsen computational designer Leonardo Castaman recently explained on LinkedIn some details related to the project team’s seven-step process using the Kangaroo and Galapagos plugins on Grasshopper to create the wooden superstructure of the 236,800-square-foot building.

The design incorporates computer-fabricated glulam beams and columns with locally-sourced CLT floor slabs. The materials were selected to promote a circular economy in line with the philosophical notion of “Allemansrätten,” a Swedish concept that essentially translates to “leave nothing behind.”

Image courtesy Henning Larsen via LinkedIn

Castaman describes his workflow on the project as follows:

First, the plane...

Henning Larsen unveils new mass timber 'World of Volvo' center in Gothenburg

2022-05-03T12:58:00-04:00

Henning Larsen has revealed their design for a new experience center called World of Volvo in the Swedish automaker’s hometown of Gothenburg.

Touting a “deep connection” to the design heritage and rich natural landscape of Scandinavia, the massive 236,800-square-foot new facility offers itself as the combined home of Volvo Group and Volvo Cars and will function as the host for a slate of events, including exhibitions, talks, conferences, and music as well as dining and retail, according to Volvo’s CEO Magnus Wrahme.

Visualization by Kvant-1

Henning Larsen’s design is based on the Swedish concept of “Allemansrätten,” a kind of folkway that endorses individual free movement and a delicate consideration for their place in nature similar to the American environmentalist idum “leave no trace.”

Visualization by Kvant-1

Its circular form expresses an empathy towards these two interconnected tenets and is composed of computer-fabricated glulam timber reinforced by internal metal connectors w...

Cobe unveils book-inspired winning design for Gothenburg University's new library competition

2021-06-05T15:00:00-04:00

Plans for a new library at Gothenburg University have been revealed after a search by the Swedish consulting firm Akademiska Hus to add what is now the newest chapter in the long architectural history of the nation’s second-largest city.

Göteborg Universitetsbibliotek. Photo courtesy of Cobe

Danish firm Cobe won the commission with a fitting design meant to mimic the curvature of a book’s pages in an imposing 16,000 square meter space adjacent to Gothenburg's most important cultural institutions.

The new building, which will replace smaller libraries serving different academic departments in arts and humanities, uses extruded white ceramic panels to create a volume interposed with vertical patterns that work the building’s profile into an eight-story literary metaphor Cobe founder Dan Stubbergaard feels is central to its function and educational mission.

Göteborg Universitetsbibliotek. Photo courtesy of Cobe

“The book serves as the inspiration and point of departure for the design,...

Cobe to create new automotive design center in Sweden

2020-05-21T18:38:00-04:00

Copenhagen-based architecture firm Cobe will create the new 14,000-square-meter design center for global automaker Geely in Gothenburg, Sweden. Set for completion in 2022, the new center will house Geely Design, the design and development arm for the Chinese automotive company. The building will function as a site for the development of the new electric car brand Lynk & Co.

The design center will be named Un3 by Geely and be a multi-purpose structure rising four-stories high. The ground-level contains a showroom that can be accessed through a large public square. The middle levels contain a small eating area, meeting rooms, and offices. And finally, the top floor contains the "Chamber of Secrets," a completely sealed off space where designers are free to work on the latest innovations and ideas without fear of the prying eyes of the public.

The top level contains a sunken yard that also acts as the glass ceiling for the atrium of the lower levels. The yard creates a space for design...

Aravena wins the 2017 Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Design

2017-04-26T12:23:00-04:00

From winning the Pritzker to curating the Venice Biennale, the Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena had a pretty good 2016. Apparently, he’s still on a roll: Aravena has just been awarded the 2017 Gothenburg Award for Sustainable Design. Awarded each year to people or organizations for “outstanding performance and achievements towards a sustainable future”, the award comes with 1 million swedish krona (just over $100,000).

“Mr Alejandro Aravena is an innovative Chilean architect that together with his colleagues in the ‘Do-Tank’ Elemental applies a design philosophy including citizens as part of the solution and not part of the problem, creating bridges of trust between people, government and business,” write the jury. “All three dimensions of sustainability are balanced in a participatory process; socially, environmentally and economically.”

SOM and Entasis chosen to design Scandinavia’s tallest tower in Gothenburg, Sweden

2014-06-18T16:29:00-04:00

The London office of SOM and Copenhagen-based firm Entasis -- who collaborated with COWI in Denmark and Sweden -- was just announced as having the winning design for the Polestar Tower in Gothenburg, Sweden. Once built, the 230 m. structure will reportedly be Scandinavia's tallest tower.

Since our last update on the Gothenburg tower competition, five star-studded finalist teams submitted their proposals under anonymity. SOM and Entasis went against teams led by Zaha Hadid Architects, Ian Simpson Architects, Wingårdhs Arkitektkontor, and Manuelle Gautrand Architecture.

"Commissioned by major contractor SERNEKE and the City of Gothenburg, this inspirational new residential scheme includes Sweden’s tallest building, marking a shift from traditional development patterns in the country. Drawing on their experience as designers of 6 of the world’s fifteen tallest buildings, SOM’s design is highly efficient, both in terms of floor space and energy use, while still including apartments with views focused on the city and waterfront."

Finalists announced for Scandinavia’s tallest skyscraper in Gothenburg, Sweden

2014-05-28T18:38:00-04:00

It's no surprise that the stakes are high to design the Gothenburg tower in Sweden, a mixed-use tower that will be the tallest building in the Nordic region. Swedish construction company SERNEKE initiated the idea of the skyscraper. Each team submitted their proposal under anonymity to the jury. The winner will be announced on June 17.

The well-known finalists make up a competitive group for the last round. They are:

Try to guess who designed what!

(Pictured above) - Proposal #1
Title: Ursa

Proposal #2
Title: Svall

Proposal #3
Title: Glasklart

Proposal #4
Title: Polstjärnan

Proposal #5
Title: Kyssen