The internationally active office White Arkitekter is dedicated to the renewable material wood and ecologically and socially sustainable architecture. In 2016, they designed a 20-storey building in Skellefteå in Sweden that will be one of the world’s tallest timber high-rise structures. Sara Kulturhus – a new cultural centre right in the core of the city combining theatre, museum, art gallery, public library, conference centre and hotel – opens this year. The building, designed to reduce embodied as well as operational carbon emissions, is mainly made of wood grown in the regional boreal forests.
The exhibition A Heart of Wood not only provides insights into the innovative construction process, but also introduces the many social and cultural uses of this timber building giant. Using drawings, models, photographs and films, the themes are presented on expansive wooden walls. The exhibition and also the outdoor installation in front of the gallery, designed by White Arkitekter, create a meeting place where people can come together to talk, share knowledge, explore new ideas and relax.