Woodlife Sweden

Wooden high-rise buildings have become reality. So have design projects taking on a life-cycle perspective working with a no-waste principle, and public spaces or even towns that take on the challenges of sustainable development for all citizens.

The projects presented in the Woodlife Sweden exhibition are all facing the looming paradigm shift in the construction industry, where wood as the only renewable building material plays a key role.

The exhibition presents 40 projects, in various scales and from all over Sweden. They have been selected to visualise how architecture, design and urbanism can help reduce the climate impact of buildings and products, and impact future development in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The exhibition Woodlife Sweden was produced by the Swedish Institute and Architects Sweden in collaboration with Swedish Wood, the Swedish Wood Award and the Swedish Forest Industries Federation in 2020.

Welcome to Woodlife Sweden!

Building blocks

Exhibition

Image of the exhibition mounted in wooden modules

Credits: Kidler

Exhibition overview (English, PDF)
Manual (English, Word)

Exhibition panels (low resolution – not for print, English, PDF)
Exhibition texts for translation to local language (English, Word)
Contact us for high resolution print files in English.

Listed architects per project and chapter (PDF, Swedish – soon in English)

Soundscape Woodlife Sweden (background sound, mp3)

Social media videos

Videos on projects are available both as full videos (4-6 minutes) and trailers adapted for social media (15 seconds). You can see the videos below. Kindly contact the Swedish Institute to download the videos.

Sara Kulturhus
Sara Cultural Center in Skellefteå/Sweden will be one of the tallest wood buildings in the world when opening to the public in 2021. The 20-storey building will contain two theatres, an art center, a library, and many public spaces for people to meet. The vision for the cultural center is to become the “living room” of the city; a melting pot for ideas and cultural exchange.

See material here: sharingsweden.se/materials/sara-cultural-centre/
Contact the Swedish Institute for password to download material.

Strandparken
Strandparken housing blocks in Sundbyberg outside Stockholm/Sweden is the world’s first eight story wood building that actually looks like a wood building. It is completely made of wood, from structure to facade. Since its construction in 2013, Strandparken has become an example and inspiration to the entire world.

See material here: sharingsweden.se/materials/strandparken/
Contact the Swedish Institute for password to download material.

Trikåfabriken
Trikåfabriken in Stockholm/Sweden is an industrial property from 1926 converted into a dynamic, sustainable office building. A timber-on-top section of 5-7 floors has been added to the excisting buildings, now joint into one complex, where 1200 people work.

See material here: sharingsweden.se/materials/trikafabriken/
Contact the Swedish Institute for password to download material.

Lilla Snåland
Can you create something out of waste that for many years was considered rubbish? And how likely is it that what you create will be selected for the Swedish Nation Museum’s permanent collection? Perhaps it takes a kind rebel and a passionate CEO of a classic furniture company. Lilla Snåland is a three-legged stool designed by Marie-Louise Hellgren, made entirely out of waste from the iconic Windsor chair Lilla Åland.

See material here: sharingsweden.se/materials/lilla-snaland/
Contact the Swedish Institute for password to download material.

Björkö wind power plant

A wind-turbine-tower in wood might sound to good to be true, but is becoming reality on large-scale, through the development by Modvion – a company based on the west-coast of Sweden. A prototype of 30m height has already been installed on the island of Björkö, and larger installations, of about 150 m height, are under current development, inland.

See material here: https://sharingsweden.se/materials/woodlife-wind-turbines/
Contact the Swedish Institute for password to download material.

Children Care Center Lindesberg

With nature and a railway station around the corner, Lindesberg health centre connects to the expansion of the central Lindesberg area 200 kilometres west of Stockholm. The building will function both as a healthcare centre and housing complex. The residential building and the healthcare centre are linked together through an area called Gallery of the Senses, which serves as a living room for all residents and visitors.

See material here: https://sharingsweden.se/materials/children-care-center-lindesberg/
Contact the Swedish Institute for password to download material.

Botanikern, Uppsala, Sweden

Botanikern is part of a new neighbourhood in Uppsala, Rosendal, developed according to a high sustainability standard. This newly built housing complex literally breathes wood, with a CLT frame and a wooden façade. The natural material is further emphasized by greenery – on the façade, in the courtyard and on the rooftop with its own biotope landscape. Social interaction is also at the projects core, as are circular systems and biodiversity, and living spaces to share, for all.

See material here: https://sharingsweden.se/materials/botanikern-uppsala/
Contact the Swedish Institute for password to download material.

Lofthuset in Orbaden

A hotel ‘room’ that is also a vista point for landscapes and skies, a place for silence and getting closer to nature. To make it possible, three rooms have been built on top of each other on an abandoned ski slope: the nature room closest to the ground, the living accommodation (and only heated room) in the middle and the vista point on top. Lofthusen was nominated to the Swedish Wood Award in 2020.

See material here: https://sharingsweden.se/materials/lofthuset-in-orbaden/

Contact the Swedish Institute for password to download material.

Communication

Suggested press release
Kindly contact us for press images
Use following in social media: #woodlifesweden

Instructions

Exhibition overview (English, PDF)
Manual (English, Word)

Inspirational stories

Woodlife Sweden at New York City’s Design and Architecture Festival, Archtober, 18-22 October. 
Woodlife Sweden at Archtober is presented by the Swedish Design Movement and arranged by the Swedish Institute, Architects Sweden, and the Consulate General of Sweden in New York in collaboration with Swedish Wood, Swedish Forest Industries, Arvet and White Arkitekter.

Watch the recordings from the webinars here :

WOODLIFE SYMPOSIUM was realised as a three-day digital event, bringing together different stakeholders from Türkiye and Sweden. The symposium took place at the Circle Space with a hybrid format between 9-11 November 2021 in Istanbul. Watch the symposium here: Woodlife Symposium – Youtube

Financial support

Applications for projects in April to December 2023

Due to the extraordinarily high number of toolkit applications, and a limited budget, we are unable to grant any further financial support for toolkits in 2023 with the exception of toolkit applications with following purposes:

– Higher education promotion
– Sweden alumni relations
– Sweden 500 celebrations (maximum of 5 000 SEK)
– The Nobel Prize (a limited numer of applications)
You can of course also use all material on sharingsweden.se but without funding from us.

Swedish embassies and consulates may apply for financial support of maximum SEK 40,000 for production of the printed material, language translation and travel costs and remuneration for Swedish guest speaker(s). Part of the sum applied for should be used for inviting Swedish guest speaker(s).

For projects aiming to strengthen cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region the level of financial support is limited to a maximum of SEK 100,000. Up to 30 per cent of the granted sum may be used for external project management.

Initiatives that include the exhibition in combination with lectures and/or workshop will be prioritised.

How to apply

To apply, please fill out the application form.

The application must be sent in at least two months before the event. Resources are limited and financial support may not be available at the end of the year. Limits may apply.

By filling out the application form you agree to respect the copyright agreement for the images.

Individuals or organisations who would like to show the exhibit should contact the Swedish embassy or consulate in your area.

How to report

After completed event, fill out the project report for toolkits.

Repayments
If more than 10 per cent of the total grant has not been used, then the full amount of unused funds must be repaid to SI. Repayment shall be via UD EKO. When repaying, enter the project’s registration number (available in the agreement) and the name of your organisation in the notification field and notify the project manager in question.

Contact at the Swedish Institute

For more information, please contact Oskar Röhlander or Jenny Bergström Bonmot