Nobel Center competition shortlists three teams to move on to stage two

Three proposals have been chosen to move to the second stage of the architecture competition for the Nobel Center, the new Nobel Prize headquarters in Stockholm. In case you missed our previous post, 11 big-name architects submitted designs under anonymity — and we asked if you could guess who designed what!

The three shortlisted firms are:

• A P(a)lace to Enjoy – Wingårdh Arkitektkontor, Sweden
• A Room and a Half – Johan Celsing Arkitektkontor, Sweden
• Nobelhuset – David Chipperfield Architects, Berlin, Germany

Learn more about each of them below.

A P(a)lace to enjoy – Wingårdh Arkitektkontor

"The Nobel Prize is not just fame and fortune. It is also about self-sacrificing work, demanding tasks, and many hours of struggles with research, with words and with strives for humanity of mankind.

This is what this building will inform. It will be a home for glory, but most of all a venue that celebrates the open mind. The dynamics of the architecture, where the solid limestone plays with the openings – small and large – illustrates the dual character of the prize as well as of the dynamics of the urban setting of the building."

"The buildings facing the Palace do all relate to its architecture. So do the Nobel Center; in its orientation of course, but also in its palace-like disposition. The facades are equal, yet different. A contemporary technology in the use of stone on the outside and wood on the inside glued to superinsulation make the facades highly competent without comprising the qualities that only time can offer a building."

"The circulation in the building is formed around two large elevators. They bring large groups of visitors up to the exhibition floor, where they are greeted by the view over the square and the islands. The auditorium below is not only the dominating space, but also the most elaborated. This is also the site for the most spectacular window. Behind the scene, a glass structure will connect the audience with a view toward Strandvägen, lit by the setting sun."

Read more about this proposal.

A Room and a Half – Johan Celsing Arkitektkontor

"The Nobel Center at Blasieholmen will inject a vigorous new institution and add considerably to the ambience of the area around Nationalmuseum. This project will transform Blasieholmen into a new whole with two distinct public institutions (the other being Nationalmuseum) sited on either side of a refurbished and expanded urban pocket park."

"The building for the Nobel Center is conceived as a clearly defined volume where the careful composition of the facades and the varied treatments of its materials aim to fuse a contemporary vitality of activities and usage with intense but realistic craftsmanship. While the volume of the building is compact the inside is different with voids and slits in the slabs that open up between the floors. Connecting spaces vertically through openings in the floors creates an interior landscape that may arouse curiosity as well as introducing unexpected natural light."

"The Auditorium is designed to be a light and truly inspiring meeting hall where daylight and views to the outdoors are combined with excellent visual and acoustic conditions. The curvature of the rows of seats give an atmosphere of proximity and togetherness for the audience and minimises the avarage distance from the audience to the speakers. The spatial quality of the hall is characterized by the ceiling in which oculi admit daylight. The oculi are of two sizes and have amphora-curved shafts that embellish the light and give a sculptural quality to the hall below. The hall may be divided into three segments, each one being equally daylit from the oculi. A conference centre adds to the Auditorium."

Read more about this proposal.

Nobelhuset – David Chipperfield Architects

"The decision to place the new Nobel Centre on Blasieholmen clearly reflects the desire to place the Nobel Foundation – as probably the most prominent Swedish institution – in visual and spatial relationship to other important national and local institutions in the centre of Stockholm. This will subsequently lead to new sociocultural correlations between the new and existing institutions and as such strengthen Blasieholmen as a unique destination for celebrating human endeavour and achievement."

"Nobel House – Nobelhuset The placement of a compact volume in the north-eastern area of the site as a solitary building – a strong and clear identity for the new Nobel Building against the backdrop of the city fabric and the National Museum."

"Nobel Auditorium – The idea of an auditorium, reflecting its outstanding nature by the role it plays for the building, for Blasieholmen and for the city – being placed at the highest point of the new Nobel building overlooking the city with dramatic views."

Read more about this proposal.

To see all proposals and other details, click here.

All images © Nobelhuset AB