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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Väven Cultural Centre in Umeå, Sweden by White Arkitekter + SnøhettaJanuary 25th, 2017 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: White Arkitekter White and Snøhetta’s Kasper Salin Prize-winning culture house, in Umeå, north Sweden, is a new concept in cultural buildings – one that symbolises the city’s ambition to entwine a whole series of disciplines within a cluster of flexible spaces.  Image Courtesy © Åke E:son Lindman
 Image Courtesy © Åke E:son Lindman Named Väven, Swedish for ‘weave’, this mixed-use 25,000 square meter building was jointly commissioned by the Municipality of Umeå and developer Balticgruppen AB, and forms a block that sits on the city centre grid and also by a newer, quayside development.  Image Courtesy © Åke E:son Lindman  Image Courtesy © Åke E:son Lindman The building’s concept was shaped in conjunction with Umeå’s residents who didn’t just want to consume culture they wanted to create it too – requesting a centre that would allow them to participate in both spontaneous and planned activities. This concept of weaving is not only present in the cultural aspects of the building, but also in its many different functions; hotel, conference center, black-box theatre, museum, library, and many others.  Kulturväven Umeå, White / Snøhetta, Image Courtesy © Åke E:son Lindman  Väven Umeå, White / Snøhetta, Image Courtesy © Åke E:son Lindman The design takes its cue from this mesh of cultural activities and functions, wrapping them up together in one large, unifying gesture through the building’s façade: a series of reflective glass ribbons woven together to form the building’s envelope. The façade is inspired by the city’s signature Birch trees – the white bark resembling the opaque cladding during the daytime hours, while at night the warm interior light gives off the same illusion. The darker bands meanwhile, are symbolized in the envelope’s glazing. The concept of weaving also influenced the building’s access points – there are no grand entrance or exit points but six carefully placed ones, accessible from three different levels that do not break up the continuity of building’s seemingly never-ending array of experiences.  Image Courtesy © Åke E:son Lindman  Image Courtesy © Åke E:son Lindman The culture house will undergo constant change and development in terms of the activities it offers, through continuous dialogue with its stakeholders. For this reason spaces are deliberately loose, playful and flexible, using as few materials as possible: wooden floors, ridged wood ceilings and columns of plain concrete.  Image Courtesy © Åke E:son Lindman  Väven Umeå, White / Snøhetta, Image Courtesy © Åke E:son Lindman Väven forms part of a larger masterplan, the City between the Bridges, which aims to create a cultural area along the river Ume. White has been entrusted with this masterplan for over a decade now, and creating Sweden’s second largest cultural centre, in collaboration with Snøhetta, the client, local businesses and the people of the city, has been the jewel in its crown.  Kulturväven Umeå, White / Snøhetta, Image Courtesy © Åke E:son Lindman  Image Courtesy © White and Snøhetta  Image Courtesy © White and Snøhetta
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Categories: Cultural Center, Grasshopper, Revit |
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