Nobel Center competition, stage II >> 3 shortlisted projects, 1 winning design.

WINNING DESIGN – Nobelhuset

David Chipperfield & Christoph Felger, David Chipperfield Architects

Construction is supposed to start in 2015 and last for 3 years; before the first stone is placed, an archeological excavation will be conducted on the site.

The concept for the new Nobel Center comprises four major ideas:

Nobel House – Nobelhuset The placement of the new building as a freestanding ‘solitaire’ is fundamental to the urban and architectural considerations reflecting the notion of a ‘house’ as a civic building. In this way the identity of the new institution is established tying in harmoniously with the immediate urban context on Blasieholmen.
Nobel Auditorium – Nobelsalen The conception of an auditorium, which receives its outstanding nature by the role it plays for the building, for Blasieholmen, the city and the world – being placed at the highest point of the new Nobel building. The entire Nobel auditorium becomes a ‘grand space’ with large panoramic windows allowing for maximum daylight as well as dramatic views over the city. In this way the auditorium as the new ‘Nobelsalen’ establishes a public presence crowning the building not merely by architectural form but by the experience of human interaction.
Nobel Garden – Nobel Trädgård The creation of a large public garden in the southern area of the site – exploiting the openness of the site in relation to its visibility and the course of the sun connecting the eastern and western waterfronts of Blasieholmen and thereby giving a major new public realm to the citizens of Stockholm. A soft undulating tiering of the topography towards the quay following a more natural flow of form characterizes the new public Nobel Garden.
Nobel Path – Nobel Gång The introduction of a public path through the building starting from an open public ground floor and leading towards the Nobel Auditorium connecting as well as organising all programmatic functions and thereby establishing what the Nobel House is about – a dynamic place of encounter, exploration, representation and inspiration.

For the full original sumbission for the competition, click here >>>

SHORTLISTED PROPOSALS:

The Nobel Snowflake – Gert Wingårdh, Wingårdh Arkitektkontor

Our new proposal promotes the building’s public character and enhances its relation to the site. The curved footprint is a direct response to the Blasieholmen context. It is built upon the original analyses of the site, where the building is kept within the extension of the Käpplingeholmen block, and approximately north of Nationalmuseum. With the reduced program, and the regularity created by an extended plaza in “A p(a)lace to enjoy” not a realistic option, a new situation emerged: First, the reduced terrain toward the east called for a reduction of the eastern corner of the building. Second, a reduction of the western corner shaped a sheltered spot with evening sun connected to the dining area. Third, the previous disadvantages when entering and leaving the building with coaches called for a more spacious plaza in front of the main entrance. Cutting corners did not only create valuable outdoor spaces right where they are needed, but also a plan that corresponds to the circular auditorium. Spatial quality is the common denominator that has evolved the round plan as well as the concavities of the snowflake. A retracted position toward the neighboring buildings emancipated the Nobel Center and opened for an even more unique architecture. The facets reduce the impact of the building in favor of a solemn monumentality. Even if the shape and transparency bears no resemblance to the environment, the size of the facets corresponds to the surrounding buildings. Their milieu will tint the façades, just as lights and shadows will make the building twist as daylight shifts. The experience of the interior evolves from the void in the middle. A high and expanding space, culminating in the vault carrying the auditorium, offers the visitors a tempting route through the temporary exhibitions up to the venue at the top. This is a borderless world; laureates and children will roam on the same conditions in a sensuous, vibrant and active realm that celebrates curiosity, creativity and lateral, as well as vertical, thinking.

A Room and a Half – Johan Celsing, Johan Celsing Arkitektkontor

The building will take its place in the city as an integral part of the urban context in which it is situated. The volume of the building will fit in with its surroundings while its skewed siting in the pattern of the city blocks will enable it to be perceived, like Nationalmuseum, as an autonomous institution. The project will transform Blasieholmen into a new whole with the two institutions sited on either side of the expanded urban park. The Nobel Center is conceived as a clearly defined building where the vibrant, light, brick structure rises from a transparent podium. The careful composition of the facades and the varied treatments its materials aim to fuse a contemporary vitality of activities and usage with intense but realistic craftsmanship. The facade could be described as a precise frame behind which an inimitable variety of events will take place. On the inside the Nobel Center displays a number of rich and compelling spatialities that are not immediately visible in its exterior. To some extent the interior can be described as a contrast to the exterior. Visiting the building will therefore be a dynamic journey of discovery between different settings and atmospheres.