Kajskjul 113

The project concerns the recovering of an historical warehouse, the Kajskjul 113, located in the Frihamnen, the Göteborg's former harbour (Sweden). The intention is to renovate the area through a participative cultural centre, a public space based on an active interaction of the users through cultural experiences.

Kajskjul 113 consists of a regular volume with strong modernist connotations. It was primarily decided to preserve the main architectural peculiarities of the building, such as the large balconies, the Dutch bricks facades and the freight elevators, making an overall consolidation. The aim was to restore the warehouse as a participatory cultural centre, thus creating a meeting point without boundaries between artistic production, the exchange of ideas and innovative events, in order to improve accessibility and participation in cultural activities. The main issue was the adaptability of space, making the building a dynamic experience in continuous evolution, ultimately responding to changing needs, users, inputs and events. The compositional strategy of the interiors is based on a "planned indeterminacy", made up of flexible and moving elements that generate interactive spaces, aimed at guaranteeing a direct experience of continuous movement. Inner volumes and mobile elements do not force a certain path but, aided by light, suggest a free movement within the space. The existing volume will suit the “art factory”, containing all the artistic production activities, while the additional volume, clearly distinguishable, will house the exhibit spaces. The cant is a continuation of the warehouse, which in formal terms is a simple translucent volume. The focus, more than the form, was pointed at structural continuity, emphasized by the rhythmic sequence of the elements on the façade, the lighting of the interior spaces, the use of materials in an innovative and sustainable form. The coating is in alabaster sheets, ensuring an immersive natural lighting of the interiors. Using the context of Sweden, which is immersed in total darkness for most part of the year, and where natural light is such a precious resource, we enforced the use of light as much possible. The reuse of Kajskjul 113, in respect of its historical characteristics, will stand out as a beacon for the area, a place of aggregation, sharing and gathering accessible to all. Cultural projects lead cities regeneration.