Kalmar Museum of Art, Kalmar, Sweden

Tham & Videgard Hansson complete Kalmar Museum of Art
Situated in the City Park of the renaissance town of Kalmar, the new Kalmar Museum, designed by Tham & Videgard Hansson Arkitekter of Sweden, is built next to a restaurant pavilion dating from the 1930s by moderninst architect Sven-Ivar Lind.

The four storey black cube clad with large scale wooden panels punctuated with large glazed openings will house both the Kalmar collection of modern art and provide space for temporary exhibitions.

Domestic in scale this museum provides a variety of exhibition conditions. The two main spaces are the white box where one side can open up completely to bring in the exterior of the park, and the top floor gallery that is lit by shed head light shafts doubling its ceiling height. In addition, there is a public art library and open workshops. One of the main architectural features is an open stair that spirals the full height of the building. The four floors, each different from the others, are stacked on top of each other and create a vertical walk up into the greenery of the trees with a series of different spatial experiences while offering views of the environs including the Kalmar castle the lake and the city center.

The building is cast concrete. The interior finishes are exposed concrete, black stained plywood doors and panels, white painted walls and natural ash.

Sharon McHugh
source: www.worldarchitecturenews.com
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