Kunskapshuset

Date

10/11/25

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Gothenburg

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Stockholm

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Malmö

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Kunskapshuset

Award-winning school for a world-class Arctic city

North of the Arctic Circle lies Gällivare – a city undergoing a unique transformation. Two centers will become one when the neighboring town of Malmberget is, in large parts, relocated due to mining. Through citizen dialogues and contact with local businesses and other stakeholders, the municipality has established a vision of building a “world-class Arctic small town”. liljewall together with MAF Arkitektkontor (now Tengbom), has been a part of this vision through the creation of Kunskapshuset , which will provide space for the municipality’s high school and adult learning center. Great emphasis has been placed on creating a flexible and beautiful educational environment equipped for the future needs of change and development.

Year

2015 - 2020

Location

Postgatan, 982 31 Gällivare

Customer

Gällivare Municipality

Contact

Harald Gamrell
Project manager
0708-79 57 99
liljewall

Kunskapshuset is a large project that involved many people and lasted for five years. The first sketches were made by hand, to be visualized and provide a clear vision of the finished building. Read more about the creative idea stage of the project.

Read more Kunskapshuset skiss

Kunskapshuset has been awarded and recognized. It was nominated for the Kasper Salin Prize 2020, WAF 2021, INSIDE Awards 2021 and EU Mies Awards 2022. It won the Swedish Design Award by Rum 2021 and the Guldstolen, Sweden’s finest interior design award. In 2024, Kunskapshuset was a finalist in the Wood Prize.

READ MORE ABOUT THE GOLD CHAIR

A city in transformation

The construction of Kunskapshuset is an important part of the extensive social transformation in Gällivare. Our assignment has been to study the needs and conditions and, in close collaboration with the municipality’s representatives and the school’s representatives, develop a solution for how the new Kunskapshuset and the entire neighborhood can be shaped into an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable, functional and architecturally attractive whole.

A strong and unified concept

The material and color concept uses wood, metal and concrete. The three basic materials are solid, durable and sustainable materials with a calm and restrained color scale. They have a long lifespan and can withstand high wear and tear. The toned-down colors create a calm and balanced contrast to the building’s red facade, glass sections and brass details. Much of the fixed interior and parts of the loose interior have been designed and manufactured specifically for Kunskapshuset . The site-specific kitchen interior, tables, benches and chairs all contribute to a graphically sharp and inspiring interior, completely unique in its kind. The red herringbone-patterned ceilings and the red columns help to reinforce the building’s personality.

See how the project was developed and meet the people behind the project.

A distinctive wooden profile

Kunskapshuset has a distinctive wooden profile through eye-catching interior and exterior wooden elements. The facade elevates a design tradition and creates a sense of craftsmanship in the city. It is built in glulam and glass through vertical wooden columns that sit in front of the internal load-bearing ones. The columns, all with different shapes and sections, have been placed in pairs, which creates varying shapes. When passersby move along the school, a changeability and rhythm are created. The school is experienced as closed in some angles and completely glazed in others.

The building being red was much discussed but soon became a given. The color, which comes from the reddest elements in nature, makes the building vibrate against the city and the white snow. It stands out but in a way that does not interfere with the interaction with other buildings.

The wood and glass facade is built up with large vertical wooden columns in a strong red color. Placed in pairs with inspiration from local patterns, the columns create varying shapes and rhythms along the facade. The school is perceived as closed in some angles and completely glazed in others. The different facades meet the city with a cohesive expression.

Related content

For Kunskapshuset we have designed a site-specific seating piece. It is a bench that, through its flexible modular system, can easily be connected to create a multitude of seating areas. In close collaboration with the furniture manufacturer Nola and the client, we have designed a product that clearly connects to our architecture, tradition, craftsmanship and technology.

Read more En möbel tar form

Connecting the Sami culture to Kunskapshuset has been an important part of the design of the school. Here it is given a natural place in Gällivare by being integrated as an obvious part of the project. During the work, textile artist Britta Marakatt-Labba, glass artist Monica L Edmondson and artist Anders Sunna, whose art left its mark on the red, well-known school, were contacted.

Read more Konstnärerna bakom verken i Kunskapshuset

Short facts

  • STATUS

    Opening in autumn 2020

  • CLIENT

    Gällivare Municipality

  • YEAR

    2015-2020

  • GROSS AREA

    approximately 23,000 sq m

  • GENERAL CONSULTANT

    MAF Architects Office

  • ARCHITECTS

    liljewall

  • INTERIOR ARCHITECTS

    liljewall

  • LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

    liljewall & WSP

  • LARGE KITCHEN PROJECTORS

    liljewall

  • CONSTRUCTION

    WSP Construction Design

  • Electricity, HVAC, Energy/Climate, Environmental Construction

    WSP Systems

  • GEOTECHNICS, SOIL/WATER

    WSP Civil Engineering

  • BRAND

    Fire Protection Act

  • ACOUSTIC

    Tyrian

Project team liljewall

  • Project manager architect

    Harald Gamrell

  • Mission leader

    Johan Brendelökken

  • Design-responsible architect

    Lars Olausson

  • Administrative interior designer

    Jonas Hermansson

  • Administrative construction engineer

    Johan Lindqvist

  • Managing architect

    Veronica Sundqvist

  • Programhandling & systemhandling

  • Participating architect

    Philip Hjorth

  • Contributing engineer

    Martin J Larsson

  • Landscape architect

    Marianne Hansson

  • Commercial kitchen projector

    Mattis Dahlberg

  • Accessibility Manager

    Anneli Sundkvist

  • Lighting design

    Alexandra Huuva

  • Julia Engberg

  • Visualization

    Karl-Johan Bexer

  • Christopher Thulin

  • Photographer

    Anna Kristinsdottir

  • Anders Bobert

MAF Architects (now Tengbom)

  • Project manager architect

    Mats Jacobsson

  • Project Manager

    Jonas Jacobsson

  • BIM responsible

    Oscar Eriksson

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