Wisdome Stockholm

Extension of the National Swedish Museum of Technology, containing a visualization dome, a spherical space where visualization technology achieves an immersive audiovisual experience, along with a café and an exhibition hall. The building splices together museum functions around a previously unused courtyard, integrating outdoor space to be enjoyed by museum visitors. Though the dome function is tall, the addition is perceived as low and sensitive, in response to the lower buildings, the linden trees, and the old vaulted exhibition hall defining the courtyard space.

The site i located right in the middle of the Royal National City Park, surrounded by historic buildings from different eras, making any addition complex and highly sensitive. Conventionally, the program would generate a low volume with a protruding dome, but to utilize the unique dome to create a strong interior space, as well as a telling exterior form, the dome is given a focal position under a free-form timber structure. The roof mediates between the tall dome and the low facades of the one-story building, spanning 26x48m across the dome. The free, curved roof soaring above the spherical dome generates an overwhelming interior space, while the oddly vaulted exterior communicates a unique function. As the construction material was sponsored by a major forestry company, the use of LVL (laminated veneer lumber) and CLT (cross laminated timber) was a prerequisite already in the architectural competition.

The gridshell structure is constructed from flat (saving cost and CO2 footprint) standard LVL panels, bent in place and fixated by wooden dowels. Each member is unique, has been modelled parametrically, and been fabricated in a digital process. The mounting to millimeter precision was executed during five months by a handfull of carpenters. The method used has never been done before and has required great commitment from everyone involved. Architecturally and technologically, the project explores material properties and the potential of timber construction, spanning from digital hi-tec to traditional handicrafts. Sustainable construction should include experimental projects, whose benefits are well into the future and geared towards innovation. In all technological leaps, research that pushes boundaries have been pivotal. The National Museum of Science and Technology will, relevant to its mission, be able to exhibit a structure that is on the forefront of what can be done in timber.