A Transparent Hall of Columns: +One Tower by Tham & Videgård
Tham & Videgård have prevailed in the international competition to design a new hotel tower for the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre (Svenska Mässan) in Gothenburg. The contract called for a building that must function at various scales in the urban context.
The architectural character of the +One Tower is based on the idea of an open interface between the city and event location as a future lighthouse in urban surroundings. In a diverse environment of city blocks and public spaces, a transparent structure of white steel columns and low-iron glass, significantly taller than the existing towers of Gothenburg, will fulfil this task.
Along with refurbishing the original main exhibition hall from 1957, Tham & Videgård have divided the tower into three parts. A base ascending to the height of the neighbouring buildings will accommodate the new main entrance as well as conference rooms and the hotel lobby. Right at the top, jutting façade supports will form a rooftop terrace that will define the silhouette like an open hall of columns. Building is slated to begin in 2022; completion is planned for 2025.
Further information:
Team: Bolle Tham and Martin Videgård (lead architects)
Mikael Stenqvist, Simon Nilsson, Wilhelm Falk, Gustav Bergström, Oskar Stare, Anna Török.
Structure and climate engineers: BuroHappold
Fire security engineers: Bengt Dahlgren
New build: 28.000 sqm