PROJECTS
The wood for the trees – from a modest school to a work of art
A modest school building in the deep forests of Värmland, Sweden, has been transformed into a work of art.
By Kelly-Ann Prinsloo | All images courtesy of Åke E: son Lindman
Bornstein Lyckefors Architects has transformed a modest school building in the deep forests of Värmland, Sweden, into a public museum celebrating the slash-burn agricultural Finns who settled in the very same forests in the early 1600s.
By acknowledging the qualities of the original building, resources could be used to address communicative challenges stressed by the client. An outer facade was erected, signalling the new purpose of the building. Conceived as a wooden palisade this new layer defines an envelope within which the museum can continue to expand, converting class rooms into new exhibition spaces as additional funds are raised.
In 2013, Värmland ' s Museum decided to invest in new premises for its branch Torsby Finnskogscentrum. Commissioned to tell the story of the Finns who settled in the forests of Värmland, Sweden, the museum saw an increased relevance in this story, relating it to today ' s narrative of global migration. Having previously shared facilities with other institutions they looked forward to having a building of their own. An old elementary school was found in Lekvattnet in the heart of the old Finn territory, and Bornstein Lyckefors Architects was involved to find a strategy for its physical transformation.
The Torsby Finnskogscentrum project by Bornstein Lyckefors Arkitekter was announced as the winner of the WAN Adaptive Reuse Award.
The architects based in Gothenburg, Sweden put emphasis on narrative qualities in strategic, poetic and communicative architecture. They are currently running against David Adjaye, Rex, Guggenheim Helsinki along with another two projects as finalists in WAN Future Projects Award.
The architects based in Gothenburg, Sweden put emphasis on narrative qualities in strategic, poetic and communicative architecture.
28 APRIL / MAY 2017 //