Tresticklans nationalpark ‹ Liljewall Arkitekter

Tresticklans nationalpark

Information and service buildings / Dals-Ed, Dalsland

The calm. A gentle wind. A scent of pine needles and bog. The sunrays that find their way down to the berry-rich ground. Trails and paths that wind through the forest you have come to discover and gain energy from. Tresticklans nationalpark in northwestern Dalsland has received a new portal in the form of an information building and complementary service buildings that invite you to pause and gain information during the journey through the forest and land.

Year

2022

Location

30 km north of Dals-Ed

Customer

Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and Västra Götaland County Administrative Board

Contact

Andreas Johansson
0765-487041
liljewall

Prerequisites and tasks

The assignment from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Västra Götaland County Administrative Board was to design new buildings around the entrance to Tresticklans nationalpark . Based on the conditions of the landscape and the history of the area, a structure of wooden logs was created that stretches towards the sky. The ambition has been to appear on the terms of the forest without either solid walls or roof. Boundaries are blurred and the construction becomes one with nature.

The site includes a unique and exciting natural area that has been depopulated. People used to live here, but now there are only a few summer houses. No infrastructure has ever been developed, but there are remains in the forest and during World War II, people from Norway had a shortcut to Sweden through the national park.

High mountain ridges split Tresticklans nationalpark in a north-south direction, making its landscape unique. The area is southern Sweden's largest wilderness area, and here you can hike among bogs, lakes and moss-covered rock outcrops for several days at a time.

Take a seat without being seen

Together with the County Administrative Board, we have studied the location of the new information building, how it is encountered, its design and direction in relation to nature. Inspired by the old remains and that this could be like a structure or construction that has been left behind and turned grey in the forest. The design of the building brings to mind an old abandoned frame, a strange form forgotten in the forest from the time when people still lived here.

A simple geometric shape, with two identical halves, together form the national parks’ hexagonal logo when viewed from above among the pine trees.
A glass roof has been placed inside the structure to ensure that it still feels open, while providing protection. The building stands in a clearing on a natural elevation and that was also part of the premise. It cannot be taller or larger than it is, it just fits – simple and marked by caution.

Drawing showing the geometric shapes.

Well integrated into the forest and nature, a meeting place and a guiding aid on the way forward.

Next to the newly constructed parking lot, buildings for toilets and storage have been built, and a couple of hundred meters into the forest you will find the new information building. The geometric shape creates a shadow play that moves around the building and temporarily takes over the forest. Apart from that, it is there only to mark the place and protect the visitor.

The wood is locally produced and painted only with pigmented linseed oil. There is no road all the way to the site, so all the material had to be carefully brought through the forest.