Architectural Vision

of a New Cultural Center in rebro

Daniel Andersson & Marcus Swart

NV3A Rudbecksskolan

rebro, April 2008

Supervisors: Lars Tivenius &

Markku Karppinen
1 Summary
A new cultural center in the city of rebro
was needed. We tried to design a building
meeting this need through innovative
architectural solutions. The result is a 112
meters tall massive building of mind-
boggling design, which in combination
with environmentally friendly solutions
forms a respectful land mark.

2
Table of Contents
1. Summary 2
2. Introduction 4
2.1 Background 4
2.2 Purpose 5
2.3 Task Implementation 5
2.4 Work Distribution 6

3. Method 7
4. The Site 9
5. The Building 11
5.1 Elevator Systems 13
5.2 The Library 15
5.3 The Tower 18
5.4 The apartments 20
5.5 The Park 21
5.6 A Green Building 21

6. Discussion 22
7. Sources and Inspiration 24

3
2 Introduction

2.1 Background
The City of rebro is currently undergoing
extensive changes in the urban landscape. Behrn
Center, expansion of Conventum and remodelling
of Stortorget are all major projects, amongst
others, which are either already in progress or
under proposal. Many of them will improve the
overall architectural quality of the city, but none
of them will act as a defining landmark that will
put rebro on the map. Malm has the Turning
Torso, Stockholm has the Globe Arena and
Gothenburg has Ullevi Stadium, but what does
rebro have?

Furthermore, in view of the fact that the

architectural environment greatly affects the
human mind1, the significance of inspirational
designs and construction works in our urban
surroundings cannot be stressed enough. So when
designing a building, architects must include
aspects concerning how the human mind will
perceive the final construction as a whole and not
only be bounded to the most cost-effective
solutions. This is according to us a major problem
that unfortunately characterizes the typical
Swedish construction work of today.

1
Utbildingsradio AB, Vra rum. 2001.

4
2.2 Purpose
Our intention was to combine and incorporate
landmark designation with functionality and
design, while keeping in mind the needs and
requirements of todays changing rebro. The
goal was to produce a building of exceptional and
innovative design and create a one of a kind
structural and architectural masterpiece.

2.3 Task Implementation

Through research we have noticed that rebros
current city library in many aspects does not live
up to the standard of a modern day library. A
library should be place for meeting and interacting
with other people as well as a center of
knowledge and personal development. According
to many2, the planning of the present city library
does not facilitate these vital properties to a
pleasing extent. The idea of a new city library, a
centre of culture and learning, has been under
discussion recently and the parking lot behind the
concert hall, Nikolai 3:311, has been appointed to
be a good location for a building of that nature3.
There is also a prevalent need for apartments in
rebro and a considerable deficiency of attractive
residences was observed in investigations of the
housing market 20064. After taking this into
consideration, we had an idea of an innovative
multifunctional building complex satisfying both
the need of a new cultural centre and the demand
for high-quality living.

2
According to workers at the current city library and a bill from delegates of the socialistic democrats
(2006-12-13)
3
According to a bill from delegates of the socialistic democrats (2006-12-13)
4
According to the report Lget p bostadsmarknaen i rebro ln 2007 from the county administrative board
of rebro

5
2.4 Work Distribution
The project was mainly carried out together. Due
to the fact that we have been working in 3D
programs, it has been very difficult to work at
separate locations since modifications on the one
3D file cannot be directly implemented onto
another. The work that we could divide was if we
agreed to work on certain objects inside the 3D
program, which then the objects themselves could
add together into one new file. This happened
rarely because the building itself is our main
object. We found that working together gives a
better spectrum of ideas and opinions so that we
can come forth to the best possible solution to
arising problems.

6
3 Method

We decided that for this product we would use

several methods of blueprint sketching, ranging
from free-hand sketch on an A4 sheet of paper,
detailed A3 plans, to full out 3D produced layouts.
This would give us the freedom to brainstorm
creatively, helping us come forth to interesting
ideas that we could later build upon to create a
truly fascinating and unique building.

To gain a perspective on the scale of the building

and its surroundings we visited the site several
times. We made observations on how the building
would be affecting its surroundings and how the
surrounding would be affecting the building. We
took notice of the stream and understood its
limitations but also spotted unique possibilities.
We visualized a pleasant, calm and relaxing setting
and realized that separating the one of the busiest
roads in rebro from our park would be a big
challenge.

Using modern techniques of architectural

development we decided that we would use
computer aided design to not only simplify the
process of designing our building but also to
increase technicality and final product quality. The
main program we decided to utilize is called
Google Sketchup 6. This is a program that
several architectural bureaus that we have visited
use, since it enables the user to easily produce
high quality 3D environments and objects very
quickly.

7
Furthermore, we used AutoCAD Architecture 2008
when creating the planning of the building and a
rendering program (Rendering is the process of
producing the pixels of an image from a higher-
level description of its components.5) to create
realistic images that will accurately simulate light
and materials to help visualize the final product.

We have gained inspiration from literature,

documentaries, real-life observations, internet, as
well as from our contacts inside the architectural
branch.

5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redering_%28computer_graphics%29

8
4 The Site

The site selected for the building complex (Nikolai

3:311, Klockaregrden) is an ideal place for a
public venue; it is centrally located and the public
transportation possibilities are among the best in
the city. The vicinity is characterized by cultural
activity and serene surroundings (disregarding
stra Bangatan, a busy thoroughfare). Nikolai
3:311 is one of the last plots of land by the stream
that is occupied by parking lots and not by
buildings or parks. Thus, the important piece of
land should be utilized for something
extraordinary; an edifice beneficial to all citizens
of rebro.

There are only two existing buildings within the

block today: the concert hall and a building earlier
occupied by the Bank of Sweden, Riksbankshuset.
Fig. 4.1 The building (Nikolai 3:311)
The first-mentioned building was designed by
former city architect Georg Arn and built in 1932
while the latter was built in 1987.

The adjacent concert hall and Vasabron constitute

an urban environment of great value6. It is thus
important to exploit the site with respect to
existing buildings and constructions, and through
innovative design try to accentuate the
architectural accomplishments of the surrounding
scenery even more.

6
Stadsbyggandskontoret, Bevarandeprogram fr innerstadens bebyggese, 1988

9
As mentioned earlier, the location possesses
excellent transportation possibilities. The number
of busses operating on Fabriksgatan is high and
the bus traffic might increase even more within
the coming years as a proposal for a new system
of bus routes has been under discussion recently7.
Moreover, the site is situated only a few blocks Fig. 4.2 Surroundings
away from the major shopping street of the city,
Drottninggatan, and the walking distance to the
city library would thereby not alter prominently.

There are three roads that surround

Klockaregrden: stra Bangatan, Fabriksgatan and
Nygatan. The part of the road called Fabriksgatan
that passes our block is intended for public
transportation only, which enables a reasonable
tranquility as well as a more secure environment
for pedestrians. As seen in the figure below, Fig.
4.3, Nygatan is a relatively calm street in contrast
to stra Bangatan, probably one of the busiest
roads of the city.

Fig. 4.3 Traffic density

7
ke Eriksson, Stora frndringar i rebros busstrafik, Nerikes Allehanda 2007-09-17

10
5 The Building
The basic idea of the building complex is a
triangular structure of inclined arches with a
tetrahedral apex, above which a tower supported
by three massive columns . The whole building is
characterized by soft circular forms and
contrasting elements of angularity, which together
forms a harmonic unity of mind-boggling and
inspirational nature.

The building can in several different aspects be

considered to be a performatist structure; it
creates an aesthetic experience of
8
transcendency and effectively questions our
frame of reference.

Through the usage of architectonic devices typical

for performatism we have been able to design a
building that appears to challenge the laws of
physics. This specific phenomenon is called
impendency9 and concerns a structures ostensibly
impossible configuration.

Another typical performatistic element is the

recurring apexes. The point where the tetrahedral
glass structure ends, meeting the apex from the
tower above, constitutes a clear centre of the
whole building complex.

8
http://www.anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap0602/perform.htm
9
http://www.anthropoetics.ucla.edu/ap0602/perform.htm

11
This resembles the inverted glass pyramid in the
Louvre Museum in Paris which together with the
stone pyramid below could, for instance,
symbolize the union of the genders10. Although
the structures are tetrahedral in our case, the
picture still cause the observer to reflect and
think; features idealistic for a library.

The total height of the building, from the ground

to the top of the columns, is 112 meters. If the
building should be referred to as being a
skyscraper or not is not straight forward, since
there is no official definition of the word
skyscraper. However, it is common to judge
whether a building is a skyscraper or not by taking
the surrounding urban landscape into
consideration.

An architect called T.J. Gottesdiener once said: "I

don't think it is how many floors you have. I think
it is attitude. [] What is a skyscraper? It is
anything that makes you stop, stand, crane your
neck back and look up 11.

We would say that our building fits both these

definitions, since it is a building of original
Fig. 5.1 The Building
design that dramatically changes the skyline of the
city.

What is the general opinion concerning

skyscrapers in Sweden? More than 60 % of the
population of Stockholm is in favor of the
construction of more skyscrapers in the city
according to an investigation12.

Even though we know that the proposal of a

building of a skyscraper would be sharply criticized
by many, we believe that the larger cities of
Sweden cannot only grow by area but also by
altitude.

10
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/paris-luvre-inverted-pyramid.htm
11
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Skyscraper.html
12
http://www.svd.se/stockholm/nyheter/artikel_762609.svd

12
5.1 The Elevator System Fig. 5.1.1 -Elevators

In large buildings, the elevator systems are of high

priority. Since the building consists of both
apartments and diverse public areas, the system C
had to be split up in two parts. However, these
systems could not be totally separated since the
safety of the people visiting the building has to be
taking into consideration. The main idea of the
elevator system is to utilize each column A, B and B
C in the figure to the right, for different purposes. A
Due to the limited space within these columns,
the planning had to be carried out with high
precision. In addition, elevators and stairwells
could not occupy too much of the area since the
columns also are intended to carry the load of the
entire tower. All elevators in the building can be Fig. 5.1.2A
seen in Fig. 5.1.1. Column A

The column illustrated in Fig. 5.1.2A is intended to

be utilized in the apartment complex. There are
two elevators with the capacities to carry 5 and 12
people respectively. The position of the large
elevator with the ability to carry stretchers etc has
been selected in order to facilitate these types of
transports; no unnecessary turns have to be done.
In addition to the elevators, the column also
includes a spiral staircase, which probably mostly
will be used in emergences only due to the height
of the building. The diameter of the all the
Fig. 5.1.2B
staircases is 1900 mm, which implies that they Column B
meet the requirements of todays legislation13,
and it is possible to use them for carrying
stretchers.

Fig. 5.1.2B illustrates the column in which two

stairs and one large elevator will be used in order
to connect the different floors of the library. The
main objective of the elevator is to transport
people between the ground floor and the caf in
the tower.

13
According to Building Regulations, BBR.
BFS 1993:57 with amendments up to BFS 2002:19

13
The transportation between the individual floors
of the library should primarily be carried out by Fig. 5.1.2C
Column C
three other elevators, not placed in the columns
(see Fig. 5.1.1)

In the third column, C, a staircase and an elevator

with the capacity to carry up to 21 people is
placed. The elevator will be used by the people
working in the library when for example
transporting heavy goods.

The two elevator systems are linked together at

three floors in the tower: 8, 9 and 18 (the top
floor), but also at the floors in the library. This
enables many possible evacuation routes as seen
in Fig. 5.1.3. The people will be guided by
automatic signals in order to find the best way
out.

Fig 5.1.3 Possible evacuation routes.

14
 5.2 The Library
According to 91 % of the population of Sweden
libraries are important for a well-functioning
society and 68 % are prepared to pay more local
taxes if the money would go to the libraries. 14 The
current city library, as mentioned earlier, does not
fit the demands of today. When Conventum was
built in 2004, an already undersized library
became even smaller. Workers at the city library
expressed concerns about other factors beside the
limited space as well. They emphasized the need
for:

Auditorium
More group rooms
Better places for reading
Better possibilities to host smaller
exhibitions

Our goal was to accomplish this and at the same

time design a beautiful building with large open
spaces that offers panoramic views of the city. We
wanted to create an edifice with great flexibility
and thus we produced a structure in which the
interior walls do not carry the load of the building.
By doing this, future remodeling of the spaces will
Fig. 5.2.1 The planning of the current city
be relatively easy to implement.
library.

14
http://www.librarylovers.se/fakta.html

15
The library occupies the major part of the five
floors in the lower part of the building (almost
7000 square meters in total), but the cultural
center also includes five floors in the tower where
there is both a caf and an exhibition hall.
Together with the utility rooms and archives
placed under ground, the whole complex consists
of 11 floors.

When entering the building from the main

entrance, located towards the square/park that
unifies our cultural centre with the prevailing
concert hall, the large scaled staircase directed
towards the well revealed sky above creates an
imposing impression.

One of the first sketches of the planning of the

Library had smaller rooms placed on the higher
floors. However this conflicted with our goal to
obtain large open spaces which would give
stunning views of the surrounding environment.

In order to achieve the close contact with the

outside but also have a lot of smaller rooms, we
had to create another floor intended for these
types of purposes only. This would enable us to
maintain the cleanliness and purity of the
symmetric floors while at the same time meeting
the needs and requirements of a modern library.

Some facilities should according to us preferably

be placed rather close to the main entrance on
the ground floor. For example, we have decided to
place the area designated for newspapers as well
as the major toilet facilities on this floor. The
ground floor is partly lowered 90 cm below the
surrounding outside ground. Wide staircases and
small ramps connect the two levels within the
building. The intention behind this is to be able to
utilize glass walls but at the same time generate a
feeling of comfort. In Addition, the ceiling height
in these areas is less than on the rest of the floor
in order to accentuate this mood. By this means
we can create an explicit line between the road
outside and the library and maintain a calm and
relaxed atmosphere.
Fig. 5.2.2 - Floors 0-4 of the library

16
The first floor is almost entirely occupied by
miscellaneous group rooms, auditoriums etc. Our
intention was to place these facilities somewhat
separated from the rest of the library.

Floor 2-4 are intended for books, sitting areas etc.

The large glass walls in combination with the
grand open spaces constitute a spectacular setting
and the closeness to nature creates a mellow
atmosphere perfect for learning and developing.
On floor 3, we have placed a restaurant/caf in
which the customers can sit and enjoy their meal
just above Svartn.

The figure below, Fig.5.2.3, illustrates an example

of how the ground floor could be furnished.

Fig. 5.2.3 Example of furniture on floor 0

17
5.3 The Tower
The tower consists of 14 floors of which 7 are Fig. 5.3.1 - Floors 5-9.
intended for luxury apartments. The tower is
connected to each of the three columns at three
places and thereby gets the support it needs to
maintain stability. The connections also function
as links between the stairwells and the tower. The
tower is also hold up by massive steel beams
following the facade of the building. In between
these beams large windows are placed. The
opacity of the glass is alterable so that the light
intensity can be changed according to desires.
Furthermore, the glass utilized is really thick, due
to both respect for the environment and the
safety of the people living there.

Fig. 5.3.1 illustrates the 5 floors that are

designated for a caf and an exhibition hall. The
largest floor at the top is the exhibition hall, which
has an area of almost 500 square meters and a
ceiling height of more than 7 meters.

Fig. 5.3.2 - Floor 5, the caf.

18
For skyscrapers, sideway forces of wind have a
greater impact on the building than the actual
load of the structure and its contents together. 15
Even though the building is not a super tall
skyscraper, aspects regarding the wind forces are
important. Therefore, we designed the building to
be extremely aerodynamic, allowing the air to
freely pass through the empty space illustrated in
the picture to the right, Fig. 5.3.3.

The angles of the different elements of the facade

also improve the ability to handle the strong wind
forces; the facade directs the airstream towards
the openings.

The usage of openings also has another great

advantage: advanced light reflection systems
could be utilized. This is a technique that has been
Fig. 5.3.3 Opening for wind forces
used in offices in order to direct natural light. We
take the method one step further by applying it to
the whole tower (see Fig. 5.3.4). Surfaces on the
columns reflect the light from the sun towards the
windows of the tower faced away from the sun, as
shown in the figure. The red reflective area can in
addition be adjusted to the right angle in order to
obtain optimal light conditions.

Fig. 5.3.4 Light reflection system.

15
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Skyscraper.html

19
 5.4 The Appartments
The building incorporates a total of 11 luxury
apartments occupying floor 10-17. The sizes of the Fig. 5.4.1-
apartments vary from about 200 to 250 square Different types
meters. As you can see in Fig. 5.4.1, the of apartments
apartments are maisonettes, i.e. spread over two
floors. Te apartments are color coordinated in
order to show how they are located.

The massive beams and large glass walls in

combination with the angles of the facade creates
an inner environment characterized by interesting
shadow plays. Our aim was to achieve light
apartments with modern design and reach the
optimum level of luxury.

Entrance

Entrance

20
5.5 The Park
The building creates a calm and peaceful area
together with the concert hall and
Riksbankshuset. This area is a perfect meeting
place for people of all ages. The various forms of
inspiring architecture surrounding the park/square
make up an ideal place for smaller cultural events.

5.6 A Green Building

Consideration to the environment is one of the
basic ideas behind the building. Smart windows
will be used in the entire building. This will enable
an adaption of how much light is let into the
building. This method makes the heating of the
building during the winter and the cooling during
the summer efficient. Furthermore, geothermal
energy (which will be used in a large building
complex under construction close to our site
Berhn Center) in combination with panels on the
large columns will be used in order to satisfy the
needs of the building. This is part of the plan of
making the building independent of external
electricity supply.

Within the building, under-floor heating will be

used. This is the best solution for buildings with
large open spaces, both due to practical and
economical concerns.16

The exterior of the building will have effective ice

and snow melting systems, like for example the
Cigna Headquarters building, One Liberty Place, in
Philadelphia17.

16
GRAND DESIGNS ABROAD IRELAND KEVIN MCCLOUD - TalkBack Productions 2007

17
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=117928

21
6 Discussion
We believe that our building will add to the
architectural richness of the city by contributing
with new shapes and dimensions. The building is
not of the same style as the surrounding
structures, but that does not imply that it fits into
the urban landscape poorly. Furthermore, we
have tried to utilize some architectural devices
that can be found in surrounding buildings. For
example, our building is characterized by round
shapes and sharp edges. These are characteristics
that can be found in the design of the concert hall Fig. 6.1 Riksbanken
and Riksbankshuset respectively.

The design of the building was earlier described as

being partly performatistic, but you can also find
typical elements of structural expressionism. An
example of a structure that has affected the
architectural development of our building is the
John Hancock Center in Chicago. This 344 meters
tall skyscraper expresses the massive structure of
which the whole tower is supported similarly as in
our case. Furthermore, the usage of triangles in
the construction is another remarkable
resemblance.

Fig. 6.2 John Hancock Center, Chicago

22
We uphold that a new cultural center would be a
great improvement for the center of rebro.
Together with the building complex Behrn Center
that is currently under construction, a new
attractive district would emerge and for instance
broaden the very narrow shopping region of today
(almost entirely situated along Drottninggatan and
Kpmangatan).

Moreover, since Sweden is one of the forerunners

of the development of new environmentally
friendly building techniques, our green building
with revolutionary design would definitely draw
attention to the city of rebro and became the
landmark we sought after.

23
7 Sources and Inspiration
Literature
- JRAN LINDWALL, ANN-KRISTIN MYRMAN, 2001, VARDAGENS ARKITEKTUR; VEM BESTMMER DIN LIVSMILJ?, BCKSTRMS FRLAG
- CHRISTER BODN, 1997, MODERNISMENS ARKITEKTUR; HUSET SOM KONSTVERK, ARCHILIBRIS
- KULTURDEPARTEMENTET, 1998, FRAMTIDSFORMER: SVERIGES HANDLINGSPROGRAM FR ARKITEKTUR, FORMGIVNING OCH DESIGN
- CLAES CALDENBY, ULLA BERGSTRM, ANNA-KARIN EDBLOM, MNS ELANDER, SARA GRAHN, JOHANNA WIKLANDER OCH RAGNAR
UPPMAN, 2000, ARKITEKTUR I FRNDRING, SVENSK BYGGTJNST
- FRANCISCO ASENSIO CERVER, 2000, ATLAS VER MODERN ARKITEKTUR, KNEMANN
- STADSBYGGNADSKONTORET, 1998, BEVARANDEPROGRAM FR INNERSTADENS BEBYGGELSE, REBRO
- JUDITH DUPR, 2004, SKYSKRAPOR, BLACK DOG & LEVENTHAL PUBLISHERS INC.
- JOSEF FRANK, 1995 (ORG. 1931), ARKITEKTUR SOM SYMBOL, ELLERSTRMS
- MAGDALENA GRAM, 2002, BIBLIOTEK OCH ARKITEKTUR, ARKITEKTURMUSEET
- ENNO ABEL, ARNE ELMROTH, 2006, BYGGNADEN SOM SYSTEM, FORMAS
- BRENDA AND ROBERT VALE, 1991, GREEN ARCHITECTURE, DESGIN FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE, THAMES & HUDSON
- PAUL CATTERMOLE, 1990, BUILDINGS FOR TOMORROW, ARCHITECTURE THAT CHANGED OUR WORLD, THAMES & HUDSON
- LENNART PE MAGNUSSON & LEIF QVIST, 1990, INOMHUSKLIMAT FR MNNISKAN, LIBER
- LARS ANDRN, 2004, SOVRMEBOKEN, ICA BOKFRLAG
- LARS ANDRN, 2001, SOLENERGI, PRAKTISKA RILLMPNINGAR I BEBYGGELSE, SVENSK BYGGTJNST
- THOMAS SCHMITZ-GNTHER, 2000, EKOLOGISKT BYGGANDE OCH BOENDE, KNEMANN

Movies/Documentaries
- VRA RUM; ARKITEKTUR & DESIGN PROGRAMUTGIVARE: MATS GODE SVERIGES UTBILDNIGNSRADIO AB 2001
- GRNT BYGGANDE PAULA SALVADOR CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION
- GRAND DESIGNS S05E04 KEVIN MCCLOUD - TalkBack Productions 2006
- GRAND DESIGNS ABROAD IRELAND KEVIN MCCLOUD - TalkBack Productions 2007

Internet
- HTTP://WWW.BRA.SE/EXTRA/MEASUREPOINT/?MODULE_INSTANCE=4&NAME=04111824712.PDF&URL=/DYNAMASTER/FILE_ARCHIVE

/050127/72DA9C4C808257F9FB3A12FF2D1AB18F/04111824712.PDF
- HTTP://DI.SE/NYHETER/?PAGE=%2FAVDELNINGAR%2FARTIKEL.ASPX%3FO%3DINDEX%26ARTICLEID%3D2007%5C10%5C12%5C25

2381

Magazines
- PLAZA MAGAZINE NR X; GLASKLART ANNA HELLSTEN

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