Swedish studio will present one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world in Prague

Prague – The work of the Swedish architectural firm White Arkitekter, which focuses on sustainable architecture, will be presented from Friday at the Jaroslav Fragner Gallery in the center of Prague. The exhibition is titled A Heart of Wood, as wood is a significant renewable material used by this studio. It is the author of one of the tallest wooden high-rise buildings in the world, the cultural center in the city of Skellefteå in northern Sweden. The exhibition will run until March 13.

The White Arkitekter studio systematically focuses on ecologically and socially sustainable architecture, being one of the first to commit to the challenge of designing and realizing carbon-neutral buildings by the end of the decade. The competition for Sara Kulturhus, the aforementioned cultural center, was won by the studio in 2016. The building is located in the heart of the city and combines a range of functions - a theater, museum and gallery, public library, conference center, and hotel. The building is primarily constructed from wood sourced from local forests. It includes solar panels and other efficient energy systems.

"Our building is carbon negative. Part of it is managed by artificial intelligence, which monitors and evaluates how the building is used, and optimizes energy consumption over time accordingly," said architects Robert Schmitz and Oscar Norelius.

The exhibition not only provides insight into the innovative construction process but also showcases various uses of this gigantic wooden structure, including social and cultural buildings. The architects wanted to highlight the potential of using wood as a structural material for complex high-rise buildings within sustainable construction. The architectural design allowed for the load-bearing structure to be created without concrete, significantly accelerating construction and drastically reducing carbon footprint. The glazed facades are equipped with vertical wooden lattices that protect against low-standing sun. The high-rise section features a double-skin glass facade with mobile sun shading that adapts to extreme seasonal variations in daylight.

The city of Skellefteå, located just below the Arctic Circle, has a long tradition of wooden buildings, which was a major inspiration for the winning design of the international competition for Sara Kulturhus.

Founded in 1951, the atelier White Arkitekter is now among the leading Scandinavian architectural firms, employing 800 people across branches in Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and East Africa.