Kalmar Museum of Art, Sweden

Tham & Videgård Hansson Arkitekter - Kalmar Building 4 Jul 2008 Photos by Åke E´son Lindman KALMAR MUSEUM OF ART THAM & VIDEGÅRD HANSSON ARKITEKTER, SWEDEN The new Kalmar Museum of Art is the result of a winning proposal in the open international competition in 2004 and was inaugurated on the 10th of May 2008. Situated in the City Park of the renaissance town of Kalmar, it is built next to a restaurant pavilion dating from the 1930s by Swedish modernist architect Sven-Ivar Lind. The competition motto was Platform and that is also the conceptual idea of this museum, a series of open platforms for art related activities. It is also how the museum is constructed, large spans for maximum flexibility on each level, so that not only light but also space can be transformed and adjusted to meet the specific needs of each exhibition. The new museum is a black four-level cube clad with large scale wooden panels and punctuated by large glazed openings. It will house both the Kalmar collection of Modern Art as well as provide spaces for temporary exhibitions of contemporary art, videos, performances and concerts. Almost domestic in its scale this museum still provides a variety of exhibition conditions. The two main spaces are the white box where one side can open up completely to bring in the exterior of the park, and the top floor gallery that is lit by shed head light shafts doubling its ceiling height. In addition there is a public art library and open workshops. One of the architectural main features is the open stair spiralling the full height of the building, starting from the new entrance lobby that interconnects between lake-side and park. It is a top lit space with all surfaces in exposed in situ cast concrete. The four floors, each different from the others, are stacked on top of each other and create a vertical walk up into the greenery of the trees with a series of different spacial experiences while offering views of the environs; the Kalmar castle, the lake and the city centre. Construction is in situ cast concrete, the big spans are made with ‘after tension’ slabs. Interior finishes are exposed concrete, black stained plywood doors and panels, white painted walls and ceilings, natural ash. TVH have also designed some furniture; the green bock-tables, the hexagon tables in white ash and steel/carrara, the museum bench, library book shelves. Kalmar Museum of Art - Additional Facts Open International Competition 2004 294 proposals from 15 countries around the world TVH’s proposal PLATFORM, 1st prize February 2005 Construction works started August 2006 Open to the public May 10th 2008 Assignment name: KALMAR MUSEUM OF ART Client: MUNICIPALITY OF KALMAR Year completed: 2008 Location - Address: Stadsparken 392 33 Kalmar, Sweden Square metres: 1594 sqm + existing Time to build: 18 months - The Museum is built on parts of the medieval city wall, and the structural concept has been developed to minimize impact on those remains, that have in part been examined before construction works started. - Kalmar has an interesting and quite radical history of building, not only the renaissance castle, and the Storkyrkan church (by Tessin, the same architect as the royal castle in Stockholm) but also some very nice examples of 18th, 19th and 20th century architecture. In the 18th century the city was moved from the castle environs to the 'island' where the city is today. Consequently the old cathedral was blown up to not constitute protection for enemy forces... Architects: THAM & VIDEGÅRD HANSSON ARKITEKTER Bolle Tham and Martin Videgård Hansson Collaborators: Lukas Thiel, Tove Belfrage, Erik Wåhlström, Johan Björkholm World Architecture Festival Awards 2008 : Culture Category Shortlist Previously: Tham & Videgård Hansson Arkitekter - Kalmar Building Oct 2007 Building image + section from Tham & Videgård Hansson Architects Company name: THAM & VIDEGÅRD HANSSON ARKITEKTER Now under construction, the Kalmar Museum of Art is the result of a winning proposal in the open international competition in 2004 and will be inaugurated in 2007. Situated in the City Park of the renaissance town of Kalmar, it will be added to a restaurant pavilion dating from the 1930s by Swedish modernist architect Sven-Ivar Lind. photo: Ake Eson Lindman from Tham & Videgård Hansson Architects The new museum is a black four-level cube clad with large scale wooden panels punctuated by large glazed openings. It will house both the Kalmar Collection of Modern Art as well as provide spaces for temporary exhibitions of contemporary art, videos and performances. Almost domestic in its scale this museum still provides a variety of exhibition conditions. The two main spaces are the White Box where one side can open up completely to bring in the exterior of the park, and the top floor gallery that is lit by shed head light shafts doubling its ceiling height. In addition there will be a public Art Library and open Workshops. One of the architectural main features will be the open stair spiralling the full height of the building, starting from the new entrance lobby that interconnects between lake-side and park. It is a top lit space with all surfaces in exposed in situ cast concrete. The four floors, each different, stacked on top of each other create a vertical walk up into the greenery of the trees with a series of different spacial experiences while offering views of the environs; the Kalmar Castle, the lake and the city centre. More projects by Tham & Videgård Hansson online soon Kalmar town square - Caruso St John Architects Tham & Videgård Hansson Architects : KTH-School of Architecture Building Image from Tham & Videgård Hansson Architects 161007 Swedish building : Halmstad Library Kalmar Museum of Art Sweden : Tham & Videgård Hansson Architects