WasteLand Skellefteå Climate Action Park Officially Opened – From Contaminated Land to a Place of Hope for the Future

On Thursday, WasteLand Skellefteå Climate Action Park—Europe’s first art and knowledge park—was officially opened. After 17 years of soil remediation, a formerly contaminated industrial site in Skellefteå has now been transformed into a new public space for art, climate dialogue, and discussions about the future.

The opening ceremony brought together visitors, partners, artists, and curious residents of Skellefteå to celebrate the launch of a space where ideas about sustainable social transformation take physical form.

At the center of the park stands Crystal Sauna—a new public artwork by the artist duo Bigert & Bergström. The sauna is shaped like a giant lithium crystal, clad in pink mirrored steel and equipped with the world’s first battery-powered sauna heater. The work functions as a meeting place, an art installation, and a symbol of the transition that is shaping Skellefteå and many other communities around the world.

Throughout the park, visitors will also encounter greenhouse sculptures, viewing points, and works of art that explore the relationship between people, nature, industry, and the future. Contributors include artist Ingela Ihrman and students from the Oslo School of Architecture and Design.

The opening program featured music by the Skellefteå Musikkår and the Skellefteå Symphonic Band, as well as discussions about the site’s history, present, and future. During the day, there were also discussions on how former industrial sites can be revitalized through culture, research, and collaboration.

Svante Spolander of the Swedish Sauna Academy participated in a discussion about the sauna’s role as a social gathering place and why shared spaces for conversation and relaxation play an important role in sustainable communities.

WasteLand Skellefteå Climate Action Park is the result of an extensive collaboration between artists, researchers, companies, educational institutions, and public actors. The project has developed in collaboration with, among others, Bigert & Bergström, Futurniture, Ingela Ihrman, Skellefteå Konsthall, Skellefteå Kraft, PhytoEnvitech AB, Luleå University of Technology, and the Oslo School of Architecture and Design.

The park is also an example of what Society Expo 2026 aims to highlight—how people, ideas, and diverse skills can come together to explore solutions to the societal challenges of the future. From a site once marked by pollution and industrial history, WasteLand has become a place for dialogue, creativity, and optimism about the future.

Meet people. Shape the future.