Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
man; 1912), an early example of an attempted fusion between local Sami forms and the
Gothic tradition, built in timber.
FROZEN ART & DESIGN
The Icehotel, in the small village of Jukkasjärvi just outside of Kiruna, not only started the
global trend of ice hotels and bars but also has become a focus for collaboration between
artists and designers from Sweden and around the world. The Icehotel now boasts an
open submission process for creatives to come to Sweden to design and build a suite in
the ephemeral hotel, which opens typically in late December and then melts entirely by
the following April.
The hotel is made from both snow and ice, the superstructure built in a manner similar
to rammed earth, with snow blown and compacted onto Gothic archlike steel forms that
produce simple vaulted spaces. Artists then create suite interiors using a combination of
malleable snow with ice, which is far more like stone in the way it is treated - a heavy ma-
terial cut into smaller usable blocks using chainsaws and then chiselled and crafted into
shape.
A wide range of artists come to the Icehotel. Regulars include fourth-generation stone-
mason Mats Nilson and younger designer Jens Thoms Ivarsson. Theirs is a very Swedish
practice, drawing on crafted tradition and also embracing contemporary design.
Standout architectural firms include the established Wingårdh, but emerging practices
such as Elding Oscarson show a restrained international influence. Lund & Valentin in
Göteborg (Gothenburg) have, since 1952, been a good index of architectural tastes, as
seen in their postmodern GöteborgsOperan (1994).
Design Hubs
One hot spot of design and innovation in recent times has been the post-industrial city of
Malmö. The old docks northwest of Gamla Staden (Old Town) were converted into ecolo-
gically focused housing for the new century. Its landmark Turning Torso (2005) - a twist-
ing residential tower designed by Catalan architect Santiago Calatrava - is an arresting
sight dominating the skyline.
Close by is the Öresund bridge (Georg KS Rotne; 2000) connecting the two metropolit-
an areas of Malmö and Copenhagen, effectively joining them in one trans-country city.
