Culture house catalyst for Skellefteå's next step

Skellefteå has a new landmark. Sara Kulturhus will be a new meeting place for the entire region where culture creates the conditions for meetings and diversity. CEO Maria Ekberg Brännström believes in the Bilbao effect.
- Sara Kulturhus will help to shape the identity of the city and the region.

Sara Kulturhus, one of the world's tallest wooden buildings, 80 metres and 20 storeys high, is being built in the centre of Skellefteå. Maria Ekberg Brännström took over as CEO of the municipal company Skellefteå Kulturhus AB in autumn 2019. She sees the task of running Sara Kulturhus as a fantastic challenge and describes herself as a courageous and committed person who makes things happen.

Maria Ekberg Brännström was born in Skellefteå and moved back in 2019, after many years abroad and the last ten years in southern Sweden. She has previously worked for Ikea for 25 years, including department store openings in Spain and development projects in India.

- As a returnee, I am struck by the forward thinking and courage of the city, which paved the way for the new cultural centre.

Sara Kulturhus will open in autumn 2021, with six stages, two galleries, a library and a foyer with an open and inviting layout. To meet the region's growing tourism and hospitality needs, the cultural centre will also house a new hotel.

The building will fundamentally change the cityscape, affecting traffic and changing the pattern of movement in the city. The building also affects the citizens, maybe it touches a bit of Skellefteå's soul? Do we like it or not? There are many opinions. Maria Ekberg Brännström is convinced that Sara Kulturhus will be a consistently positive force.

- It will be a welcoming place that builds community and pride.

The building is named after the writer and cultural personality Sara Lidman.

- She was and is a great role model for many, and the name feels right. Sara Lidman was able to say a lot in a simple way with just a few words. She was clear, humble and funny, and dared to stand up for her opinions. Naming a cultural centre after a well-known author with strong local roots is also a way of highlighting the region's strong storytelling tradition.

Local roots

The project started in 2012 and construction began in autumn 2018. The raw material comes from forests in the region and the short transport distance to the construction site has meant a low carbon footprint. The frame is built by Martinssons in Bygdsiljum and has a total volume of approximately 10,000 cubic metres of cross laminated timber and 2,200 cubic metres of glulam.

The building has many innovative solutions, the building has no main entrance and rear, it is instead open in all directions. Inside, the wood in the floors, walls and ceiling is as bare as on the outside.

- It feels like an expression of honesty and transparency. And the large space with exposed roof structure almost creates a sense of devotion.

Part of the building's architectural greatness, according to Maria Ekberg Brännström, is its openness and inviting architecture, which creates conditions for participation and creativity.

- The building opens up for doing things that are not normally within the scope of what culture is expected to be. To explore the possibilities, we need to be brave and dare to let go a little, without knowing exactly what the result will be. It's exciting.

The heart in the bloodstream

Sara Kulturhus is being built on a site in the middle of Skellefteå that has long been intended to house a large building. According to CEO Maria Ekberg Brännström, the culture house will become an integral part of the community, not only in terms of art and culture, but also in terms of energy. Skellefteå Kraft has developed an innovative energy solution in cooperation with ABB.

- When the cultural centre generates surplus heat, it can be used elsewhere. It is part of Skellefteå Kraft's effort to connect different parts of the city as often as possible, and in as smart a way as possible, using local supply and demand for surplus energy.

The Bilbao effect

Sara Kulturhus will in many ways be a signature building for Skellefteå. Maria Ekberg Brännström believes in the "Bilbao effect", i.e. that the building, with its striking architecture and grandeur, will contribute significantly to shaping the identity of the city and the region. As in Bilbao, where an ultra-modern and spectacular Guggenheim Museum was built. Controversial and controversial, the museum gave the city a huge boost.

Now work is underway to explore what Skellefteå's new, spectacular cultural centre will contain, what will happen next. Permanent cultural activities will be the Västerbotten Theatre, the Anna Nordlander Museum, the Skellefteå City Library and the Skellefteå Art Gallery, each with its own clear mission.

- These are businesses that are already doing a fantastic job, but have lacked the facilities to take the next step, and now they will.

Kulturhuset lowers the threshold

According to Maria Ekberg Brännström, the challenge of culture is to make people want to experience things they may not have thought about or liked before. She believes that Sara Kulturhus will make more people want to consume culture.

-"Since the building will house everything from libraries, cafés, galleries and stages to restaurants, spas and hotels, I think it will help lower the threshold. It will be easier for more people to find their way to culture.

The project as a whole is and has been a long and exciting journey with many opportunities and challenges that have required new thinking and ideas - and a lot of courage.

- If you do the groundwork well, it will be good in the end. Consensus was and is the great importance of culture for a society. A wide range of culture enriches a place and the people who live there, but also attracts visitors from outside.

Maria Ekberg Brännström is convinced that the end result will exceed expectations.

- We are building a cultural centre for the future, which is exactly what Skellefteå needs. Sara Kulturhus will be a catalyst for Skellefteå's next step.