Swedish National Museum of Art

Through Erik Wikerstål, formerly Wikerstål Architects, Tengbom, as a sub-consultant to Wingårdhs, has carried out restoration, renovation, and updating of the Swedish National Museum of Art. On October 13, 2018, the doors were reopened to the public, and it is in every way a lighter museum that is met by the visitors.

It took five years with much respect, finesse, and expertise to dismantle the Swedish National Museum of Art and then reassemble it in an updated, modern, and accessible version. For 150 years, the museum has been rebuilt time and time again based on various prevailing ideals. They have built windows, lowered ceilings, and changed the floor plan. Now, on behalf of the National Property Board of Sweden, Tengbom, in collaboration with Wingårdhs, metaphorically opened the museum’s eyes, let in the light and re-established contact with the city and world outside.

“We approached the mission as restoring Friedrich August Stüler’s vision for the building to the original, but adapted it to today’s ideal for museum activities in combination with the needs and expectations of a public building,” explains Erik Wikerstål, responsible architect from Tengbom.

Above all, the work has entailed a major technical renovation focusing on personal safety, fire safety, climate, and accessibility. The result is a museum that is better for the visitor, better for the art, and better for the staff who work there.

All the light in the courtyards 

The team raised the courtyard floor to accommodate new ventilation equipment placed in Blasieholmensberg. They then lowered the church hall floor to its original level, creating an accessible entrance on the same plane. To improve accessibility, they also converted eight windows around the courtyards into doorways.

The southern courtyard has received an expressive addition in the form of a lift tower. It is designed to be a large sound-absorbing box with the function of an altar cabinet where the screens and technology for seminars are hidden behind two large doors.

“The only new form we have introduced is essentially a wickerwork structure on the lift tower,” Erik says. “We also added a small concrete service building at the back of the museum.”

Both courtyards now open up to the museum’s interior and the sky. New glass roof domes let in daylight and improve the acoustics. Sound travels up into the ceiling, where small glass pyramids on the walls help distribute it. Stained acoustic plaster absorbs the sound, preventing it from bouncing back.

In 2013, Wingårdhs and Wikerstål Architects won the contract for the National Museum on behalf of the National Property Board of Sweden. Wikerstål Architects became part of Tengbom in 2017. The project has already received several award nominations, including Stenpriset 2018, Betongpriset (extension), and Construction of the Year.