Arkitekt: Msc Architect Robert Alewijnse, DP6 Architectuurstudio.
Associates: Msc Robert Alewijnse, architect-director, Msc Chris de Weijer, architect-director, Msc Harrie Hupperts, commercial/technical director, Msc Rik den Heijer, team leader, Msc Carolina Sumares, assistant designer, Ba Patricia Cortijo Concha, assistant designer, Msc Evangelia Mitsiou, assistant designer, Bsc Muhsin Sagdic, drawer, Msc Tim Sluiter, assistant designer
This scheme presents a very well-organised centre for theatre and the arts, powerfully linked with Kulturmagasinet, and with all functions accommodated beneath a roof deck which looks more like a landscape than a building. It is a signature building which, with its sloping level and an uprising stage section, presents a magnificent front towards the bay, while at the same time responding to the entrance piazza with a plain glass front.
The building has the form of a sculpturally composed landscape, with a large stone-clad roof deck sloping towards the sea. This imparts character to the building and at the same time gives the people of Sundsvall an exciting place to frequent, with a glorious view of the bay.
This project is entered from the piazza on the west side. However, its relatively low scale involves considerable spread at ground level, with the result that people wishing to get round the building will find themselves in for a long walk. The building's relation to the E4 highway feels unclear and does not support future development towards a boulevard in keeping with the city's vision.
The building is firmly organised. The big foyer is an open, accessible room which has been confidently divided up into smaller spatialities. Activities for children and youngsters are accommodated in small rooms borne up on pillars and thus occupy a central, significant position in the building. In other ways, though, this solution presents problems: the elevated facilities are more difficult for the public and staff to get to, and it seems hard to meet evacuation requirements without making big changes to the scheme. In addition, the basic idea of a sea view looking east seems rather undigested, and the exhibition gallery next to the stage unit is somewhat inaccessible and sidelined. For all its great qualities, this scheme entails a number of difficulties and uncertainties which the Jury believes may be hard to overcome.
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