Episode #22: Sara Kulturhus in Sweden from ABB's video series Frozen Music

A wooden house in northern Europe is a log cabin in the woods by a lake, or a colourful fishing hut at a fjord somewhere, right?

Well. No! Let us explore Sara Kulturhus.

In 2016 the municipality of Skellefteå in Sweden announced a general architectural competition for a new cultural centre in the heart of the city. Well-known Scandinavian practice White Arkitekter with project directors Robert Schmitz and Oskar Norelius won the call with the design of a timber complex with connected buildings that house a museum, theatre, concert hall, public library and space for the community to come together, and topped by a 20 story high-rise hotel, which is one of the tallest wooden structures in the world.

White Arkitekter reimagined everything, down to the foundational materials. An innovative dual construction combines glue-laminated timber pillars and beams with cross-laminated timber cores, shear walls and prefab hotel rooms. With no concrete in the load-bearing structure, the build time was greatly reduced. So was embodied carbon: the building should have a sizable negative footprint over 50 years. The line-up of local power company Kraft and tech expert ABB opened the corridor further to deliver one of the most energy-efficient building complexes in the Northern Hemisphere. Everything is connected: PV panels, battery storage, heat pump, distribution equipment, and critical systems.

ABB Ability Optimax and ABB eStorage OS employs autonomous AI to monitor, control and manage the power supply and consumption. It communicates with its local area and even sends excess energy to other buildings. And it’s trained to make decisions based not just on what saves money, but on what’s best for the environment, city and people.

No wonder that Sara Kulturhus and White Arkitekter have won numerous recognitions. From CTBUH Award to World Architecture Festival Awards, Global Visions Awards to Electrical Review Excellence Awards.

Oskar Norelius and Robert Schmitz of White Arkitekter added, "Crafting simplicity from complexity where the intricate dance of timber elements subtly unveils a seemingly effortless design."

It is an icon of cultural happenings and an icon of sustainable design.