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Gothia Towers is one of
Europe’s largest integrated meeting venues. Now this global
venue will become even bigger. This year an architectural
competition was held to design a fourth tower with spectacular
top floors, a new multi-storey entrance and a terrace. The
winning design from Tham & Videgård Arkitekter creates an open
environment in which food, culture and events share the space
with meetings and trade fairs throughout the venue, adding more
dimensions to the overall visitor experience.
“The winner has presented a magnificent tower which is
significantly taller than the existing Gothia Towers and will be
a new landmark for Gothenburg,” says Carin Kindbom, President
and CEO of the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre / Gothia
Towers. +One includes a new inviting entrance which smudges the
boundary between outdoors and indoors. “We’re immensely proud to
have this opportunity to further strengthen our international
appeal and generate new value for the city of Gothenburg.”
The assessment team included representatives from the Swedish
Exhibition & Congress Centre Foundation, Architects Sweden and
the City of Gothenburg. Other expert representatives also took
part in the evaluation process, which started when the
competition was announced nearly a year ago. The contestants had
the task of designing a fourth tower containing about 400 hotel
rooms, meeting spaces, restaurants, offices and a terrace with
room for up to 1,200 guests to mingle.
“The selection and adjudication process was thorough and
exacting, and four outstanding entries went to the final,” says
Roger Holtback, chairman of the Swedish Exhibition & Congress
Centre Foundation. “The contestants’ task was to design an
integrated and innovative building of high quality in terms of
both architectural design and practicability, with clear ties to
our history and urban environment. The choice fell unanimously
on Tham & Videgård, to whom we extend our warmest thanks and
congratulations.”
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Excerpt from the assessment
team’s statement:
“The winning design captures the spirit of the Swedish
Exhibition & Congress Centre and celebrates Gothenburg as an
engaging and exciting meeting destination. The assessment team
agrees with Tham & Videgård’s urban development analysis, which
defines the meeting between the city and the tower on a scale
that is suitable for Gothenburg. Overall, the tower will serve
as a new interface between the city and the venue and provide a
distinctive landmark in Gothenburg. This was the design that
best met the competition criteria with respect to architectural
design, flow management and views of the city. The design offers
opportunities for creating an open, exciting and stimulating
environment integrated with the Swedish Exhibition & Congress
Centre’s activities, where food, culture and events share the
space with meetings and trade fairs throughout the venue.”
Bolle Tham and Martin Videgård, chief architects at Tham &
Videgård Arkitekter comment: “We’re thrilled that the assessment
team unanimously chose our design. +One is an incredibly
exciting and prestigious project to be working on for the
Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre / Gothia Towers.”
“Our vision is to become Europe’s most attractive venue by
offering the best overall experience,” says Carin Kindbom. “We
need to evolve continuously to keep up with international
competitors, and +One will add further dimensions to our
comprehensive offering.”
Work on the local development
plan is expected to start in 2020
Facts about the architectural
competition:
In November 2018, architectural firms were invited to take part
in a competition to design the fourth tower and new main
entrance of the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre / Gothia
Towers. Out of 57 Swedish and international applicants, five
finalists were selected, of which the following four completed
the task:
- Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects (Denmark)
- Tham & Videgård Arkitekter (Sweden)
- White Arkitekter (Sweden)
- Wingårdhs Arkitektkontor (Sweden)
“The design creates an open, exciting and stimulating
environment where food, culture and events share the space with
meetings and trade fairs throughout the venue, making the
Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre a more open and accessible
part of the urban environment.” Image: Tham & Videgård
Arkitekter
The assessment team:
- Roger Holtback, Chairman, Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre
Foundation
- Christel Armstrong Darvik, Board member, Swedish Exhibition &
Congress Centre Foundation
- Carin Kindbom, President and CEO, Swedish Exhibition &
Congress Centre / Gothia Towers
- Joachim Hult, Real Estate Director, Swedish Exhibition &
Congress Centre / Gothia Towers
- Olof Hallberg, specialist architect, ABAKO Arkitekter
- Björn Siesjö, city architect, City of Gothenburg
- Simon Wallqvist, planning architect, City of Gothenburg
- Karolina Keyzer, formerly city architect in Stockholm,
architect OKK+
- Stina Malm, architect, Johannes Norlander Arkitektur
Captions:
“The project ties in clearly with Gothenburg as a city of events,
and with the local area around Korsvägen”.
“The winning design in the architectural competition for the
+One project comprises three elements: an inviting terrace, a
tower that interacts with the city and a distinctive upper
section.”
“The design creates an open, exciting and stimulating
environment where food, culture and events share the space with
meetings and trade fairs throughout the venue, making the
Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre a more open and accessible
part of the urban environment.”
Release: Svenska Mässan, Gothenburg