Advertisement

Stockholm's controversial Nobel Center has found a new home

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
Stockholm's controversial Nobel Center has found a new home
Lars Heikensten, Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation, speaks to media about the plans. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg / TT

An ambitious but controversial new centre for activities surrounding the Nobel Prizes has found a new home in Stockholm, the Nobel Foundation said on Friday.

Advertisement

In 2018, a Swedish court ruled against the construction of an already revised version of the planned "Nobel Center" in the heart of Stockholm, saying that the building "would affect the readability of Stockholm's historical development as a port, shipping and trading city".

The proposed Nobel Center, which will house a museum and serve as a site for the Nobel foundation's outreach activities, has had many critics, including King Carl XVI Gustaf, because of its planned size, location and colour.

"This will be a new beginning for our efforts to make the Nobel Center a reality," Lars Heikensten, Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation, said in a statement Friday.

The new site is in the area of Slussen, which connects two of Stockholm's islands and is about one kilometre (0.6 miles) from the originally intended Blasieholmen peninsula. Heikensten said the centre will "assume a new shape on a new site."

The previous project, designed by British designer David Chipperfield, consisted of a shining brass building, in stark contrast to the 19th-century customs house slated for demolition that now occupies the space.

In rejecting the building permit the court said the construction would "cause significant damage" to the preservation of Blasieholmen's cultural heritage and environment.

The Nobel Foundation had originally hoped to launch work on the new centre in 2017, but now aims for 2025 or 2026. The foundation said on Friday it will now "initiate the process of seeking funding for the project and appointing an architect."

 

 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also