The Swedish are known around the globe for their knack of design, mostly thanks to IKEA. However, the Scandinavian thirst for great and unique designs does not end with furniture. In fact, the architecture in Sweden is just as different, often downright wacky, as their designs for home furniture.
The modern Swedish architects like Gert Wingårdh have moved beyond post-modernism and have adopted a more relaxed approach to design which allows their creativity to show through. Here’s a list of ten weirdest Swedish buildings that are challenging the boundaries of contemporary architecture.
10. The Turning Torso
This Santiago Calatrava architectural marvel is located in Malmo. The 190-meters-tall tower is the world’s only twisting skyscraper. It is also the tallest structure in Scandinavia. The Turning Torso comprises of nine cubes with triangular tips, twisting through the Malmo skyline. The downside to this unique structure is that the residents have a hard time trying to figure out the best place to put their furniture.
9. The Victoria Tower
This Gert Wingårdh masterpiece is located in Kista. The Victoria Tower features a striking design allowing the residents to look outside, however, the outsiders cannot look inside. The building won the first prize at the World Architecture Festival, 2012. At 117 meters, the Victoria Tower is the tallest hotel in Scandinavia.
8. The Mirrorcube
This incredibly stylish reflecting structure was a collaborative effort of the top Swedish architects like Sandell Sandberg, Tham & Videgård, Inredningsgruppen, and Cyrén & Cyrén. The mirrored-walls on the exterior of this building make it a part of its surrounding. If it were not for a bridge leading up to the Mirrorcube, it will be impossible to tell it was even there.
7. Restaurang Tusen
This restaurant is one of the unique and stylish eatery places you would ever visit. The building was designed by the Murman Arkitekter and is located in Ramundberget, a ski resort in Sweden. The building resembles a child den made by a giant. The huge birch twigs complete the illusion.
6. The Ice Hotel
Just the fact that it needs to be rebuilt every year was enough to get the famous Ice Hotel on this list. The first Ice Hotel was built in 2008 in Jukkasjärvi, around 200 kilometres north of the Arctic circle. Eight weeks are needed to erect the hotel made from 1000 tonnes of ice and 30,000 cubic meters of snow and ice.
5. Emporia
The most distinctive feature of this structure is the bold design featuring a giant gold chasm. The daring design of the Emporia resembles a massive glass structure made from the golden glass cut into two by a chasm in the middle. Gert Wingårdh designed the building in 2012 and now serves as a shopping mall.
4. The Ericsson Globe (Globen)
This huge structure that resembles a nuclear reactor is in fact, a massive stadium. Shaped like a golf ball, the Globen was designed by Berg Arkitektkontor. The stadium was completed in 1989 and offers a great view of the Stockholm skyline.
3. Kuggen (The Cogwheel)
The Cogwheel is located in the centre of the square near the Chalmers University of Technology. This Wingardhs design looks a little different from all sides. The idea was to encourage the people to walk, so they included only one lift in the building.
2. Naturum Vattenriket (The Nature Room)
The Nature Room is 5-minutes away from Kristianstad. The designers wanted to blend in with the surroundings and offer varying perspectives.
1. Uppsala Konsert & Kongress
This concert hall was designed in collaboration with White and Henning Larsen Architects. The reflective metallic exterior of the building is stunning and looks a bit like the piano keys.