Visitor Centre with Thatched Roof in Southern Sweden
- Florian Köhler
With the new reception building sandellsandberg completed their first project in a series of new buildings for Eriksberg game and nature park in south-eastern Sweden. Directly at the entrance to the park, where there used to be just an unprepossessing entrance gate, a modern visitor centre with echoes of regional handcraft now welcomes guests. In terms of both form and material the building relates to a type of manor house that was originally typical of the Blekinge region. The facade is clad with rough-sawn pine boards painted falu red and the thatched roof is covered with bundles of reeds tied with wire. The untreated stalks are naturally water-repellent, they dry quickly and have good insulating properties. The asymmetrical form of the gable, the over-dimensioned round window and the scalloped building envelope contrast clearly with the traditional building materials. The lattice-like wooden facade that is hung from the roof structure is raised like a curtain on all sides and opens the way inside the building. Once they have entered visitors encounter a recessed timber frame building that is generously glazed on the main fronts in the north and east. While on the long sides of the building the front-hung facade is quite close to the building's thermal shell, at the gable ends the wooden curtain hangs far in front of it, creating generously sized, covered outdoor spaces.
