Henning Larsen Architects, in collaboration with SLA and Tyréns, has won the competition for a new town hall of 25,000 m2 in Uppsala, Sweden. A glass roofed courtyard will be the new, public gathering place of the city.
With its transparent architecture the new town hall of Uppsala enters a dialogue with the citizens. The town hall welcomes the public inside through a passage running through the ground floor of the building. A courtyard covered with a great glass roof make up the heart of the town hall where public services and programs are situated.
A sculptural building in the center of the courtyard connects old and new departments with footbridges at different levels. The town hall, meeting- and conference facilities are located here. The central building adds to the modern environment where knowledge sharing and cross-disciplinary problem solving are key. The new town hall makes up 1,500 flexible work places, a cafe with outdoor serving, a restaurant, shops, conference facilities, and space for public and private exhibitions and events.
The project is a refurbishment and an addition to the existing town hall which was only partly completed in accordance with the original drawings. Henning Larsen Architects’ proposal build upon the competition proposal from 1957 and completes, with an L-shaped building, the original intention of a closed town block.
The jury names Henning Larsen Architects’ proposal the one which most convincingly unites functional demands with architectural quality:
“Our vision is a welcoming, modern town hall that promotes dialogue with the citizens, is a functional work place, and a meeting place for townsmen, officials, and politicians. At the same time, we want to preserve the architectural value of the existing building. I think, the winning proposal has solved this equation in a very elegant way,” Major of Uppsala and chairman of the jury, Marlene Burwick, says.
The jury judged the five proposals by architectural design, functionality, adaptability, implementation capability, and sustainability.
Henning Larsen Architects’ proposal will form the basis of the further development and adaptation of the project which will happen in close collaboration between the counselling team and the client. The transformation of the town hall will be initiated in 2017 and the building is expected to be completed in 2020.
