Tengbom . renders: © Metro Cúbico Digital
Göta canal, one of Sweden´s most popular tourist attractions, is a 200-year-old waterway, still today described as an engineering masterpiece. It spans from west to east in the south of Sweden, a 190km long connection between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea though lakes, rivers, artificial canals, and locks.
In 2022 an international architecture competition was held to envision a new visitor centre beside the Bergs locks, one of the hot spots of the waterway, where 7 connected locks raise and lower some of the thousands of boats that each year cross the canal. Tengbom architects were the competition winners with the Belvedere proposal, a carefully placed visitors centre that creates a dialogue between landscape, heritage, and contemporary architecture.
The design takes inspiration from the natural landscape of the site and its local vernacular architecture. It blends the smooth topography with the traditional gable roofs of rural architecture of the surroundings. The composition is situated on top of a hill, nested against an existing farmhouse and extending to south, east and west overlooking the scenery around. From this spot the visitor can enjoy the best the surroundings have to offer; lake Roxen, the seven locks, the marina, and the historical landscape with remains dating back to the Iron Age. The new visitor centre frames all these views from the inside and acts as a new landmark from the outside.
The plan starts from the extension and transformation of an existing old barn by adding two new volumes, interconnecting all three. The new ensemble introduces an evolution of the barn´s archetypical form, changing from a traditional gable roof facing east, to a more dynamic form that blends with the topography as it faces west. The transition from tradition to contemporaneity overlaps with the transition between the building and the landscape. The result is a blend of heritage with new architectonic features that create a unique experience of this unique site.
The competition brief placed high demands on the new building, It should create an added value to the site, described by the client as a “wow effect”. Tengbom´s proposal delivers new forms and shapes, creating a new landmark, but with a humble attitude towards the landscape allowing the qualities that we find today on the site to flourish. This is achieved by a sensitive scale, minimal footprint, use of sustainable materials and non-invasive constructive techniques. Locally sourced timber will be used extensively, allowing not only to reduce carbon emissions but also to continue the long tradition of timber construction of the region.
A new pathway is proposed to the site allowing visitors to access new areas of the landscape: nature, new and existing buildings, sightseeing spots and historical remains are interconnected enhancing the full Belvedere experience not as a single location on the top of the hill, but as a collection of experiences in the landscape.
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Architect: Tengbom
Team: Antonio Minto, João Gaspar, Helena Hasselberg, Soheil Shahnazari, JP Pereira
Year: 2022
Place: Berg, Linköping – Sweden
Renderings: Metro Cúbico Digital
