Kulturväven Cultural Centre, Umeå, SE
The northern Swedish coastal city of UmeÃ¥ is not only the European Capital of Culture 2014, but also one attraction richer. The new cultural centre Kulturväven is the centrepiece of the city’s latest development. UmeÃ¥ – located a good 600 kilometres north of Stockholm – has more than doubled its population in the past 50 years and is in the middle of an exciting process of urban and infrastructural development. The competition for the design of the central district “Between the Bridges” was won by the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta. In cooperation with White Arkitekter, the Kulturväven was also designed and planned for this purpose.
Project data
Architect
Snøhetta, Oslo, NO
White Arkitekter, Stockholm, SE
Client
Umeå kommun, Umeå, SE
Balticgruppen AB, Umeå, SE
Products
usedGEWE-safe® and GEWE-therm®
Glass supplier
Schollglas Sachsen GmbH, Nossen
Interwoven architecture in the city centre
“Väven” means “weaving” – this is also the central design idea of the project. The building, which has an almost S-shaped floor plan, is intended to connect the city centre with a newly created river promenade along the Ume. The Kulturväven dovetails old and new, creates transitions and permeability. The extensive spatial programme “interweaves” different cultural offerings: the cultural centre houses the new city library, a museum for women’s history, a flexible hall for theatre, concerts and conferences and much more. Generous window areas allow views in and out and create a bright atmosphere inside. On the side of the “S” facing away from the river, a 13-storey hotel tower rises above the four-storey base building as a new landmark.
A new dimension in the city of birches
Likewise, the black and white façade catches the eye of the viewer from afar. In its tonality, the building envelope picks up on the colours of birch trunks and thus gives the name “City of Birches” a new dimension. Viewed up close, bands of glass shingles and window surfaces interweave in the façade, flowing around the building and low-rise building and uniting them.
Glass refinement by means of foil
Depending on the angle of view and the incidence of light, the trapezoidal shingles change in different shades of white. This effect is based on an opaque white film that was used in the GEWE-safe® laminated safety glass for this project. However, there are hardly any limits to the possible variations with composite security films. SCHOLLGLAS offers a wide range of colours according to customer requirements: combinations of transparent, semi-transparent or opaque colour nuances can be created. Thanks to its in-depth expertise, SCHOLLGLAS was able to guarantee the highest precision and care and ensure that no irregularities such as bubbles or wrinkles spoil the visual impression.
Special construction without visible fastening
All glass shingles were hung without visible fastening. The special construction required for this – three to four U-profiles per glass shingle with agraffene notch on the back of the elements – was also professionally bonded by SCHOLLGLAS. The many individual formats of the approximately 3,000 different shingles posed a major challenge for production, but also for the logistical processes of delivery and assembly. The order also included GEWE-therm® multi thermal and solar control glass in the south building, which protects the interiors from intense sunlight in summer and from the low temperatures of the northern latitudes in winter.
Regardless of whether it’s summer or winter, the new cultural centre UmeÃ¥s gives the city’s skyline a unique accent and a new platform for the city’s cultural life.
