A timberdome built for district cooling
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
At a high point at Medicinareberget in Gothenburg, sits Sweden’s first wooden dome housing a cooling district which serves the surrounding labaratories. It is a co2 neutral building entirely constructed in wood with glulam arches and the façade is covered with wooden flakes treated with linseed oil, turpentine and tar, making it resemble a pinecone. The building is surrounded by steps in different levels, making it inviting for the public to come up close and engage with the architecture.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
On behalf of Akademiska hus, we designed a building to hold a cooling district to serve the laboratory buildings around. The two goals with the project was to create a unique shape as well as being carbon neutral. We found that the function within the building would work well in an igloo shaped structure which we gave a warm expression by choosing wood as the material. The site is confined by a small crooked road which climbs up the hill and embraces the structure. The diameter is nine meters and the structure made up of glulam beams is covered on the outside with wooden flakes.
Key objectives for sustainability
The dome is built completely in wood which is a renewable material, making the building carbon neutral.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The dome has gotten a lot of attention in newspapers and public interest thanks to its aesthetic formation and the usability as a meeting spot for people.
Key objectives for inclusion
The opportunity for people to meet by the dome has been positive for workers as well as people living in the area who have gained a sunny place to eat their lunch or spontaneously stop and sit down for a while.
Results in relation to category
We have developed our own unique building technique with the glulam beams when making the façade double curved where the challenge was to cover it up with more wood on the outside.
How Citizens benefit
The dome is placed on a site where many people pass. The stairs around the dome, which you can sit on, invites to take a break or a “fika” as it is called in Swedish. The steps are directed towards the south making it enjoyable to sit here on sunny days.
Innovative character
This is the first wooden dome ever built in Sweden making it a challenging but fun task to design. Previous domes used to be built in bricks or steel.
