Juvelen | Utopia

The Municipality of Uppsala has named Skanska and Utopia Arkitekter the winners in its land allocation competition for Uppsala Resecentrum (the Uppsala Travel Centre). Part of the jury citation reads: “The scheme is conceptually consistent, presenting a building whose vocabulary is both contrasting and refreshing. The great merit of this project consists in its deft, ingenious handling of the different ground levels on the site, using a holistic approach to achieve a seamless interaction between outdoors and indoors. The project convincingly shows how people will populate and move about in both building and locale.” Construction is scheduled to begin during the final quarter of 2014

A landmark building of the Uppsala residents’ very own. Juvelen’s essential idea is to create an exciting meeting point and display area for the values which Uppsala stands for, with scope also for interesting things which the region has to offer. A distinct sustainability profile has been our lodestar, giving both casual visitors and the people of Uppsala themselves an opportunity of finding out more about the city and municipality as an internationally leading region where sustainability is concerned. All in all, this means excellent prospects of building pride and generating interest in the building, the place and the region. We fully endorse the municipal endeavour to create a building which will be interesting, unique and – why not? – spectacular to see. But the place and the building demand more than that. Design matters, but it is, not least, a distinct, attractive profiling and relevant content that, in the long run, will sustain interest in both place and building and unfailingly attract tenants and visitors. As the competition brief itself makes clear, we perceive that the building must be an articulate vehicle of identity in Uppsala. As we see it, relevant landmark buildings must be experienced as belonging to the people. We see good chances of creating both pride and long-term interest in Juvelen by giving the building interesting public spaces and functions. Juvelen must not be a half-hearted galleria full of the most predictable players. Instead we want, together with the Municipality, to inspire a commitment to the building and the site which will attract relevant players in keeping with our concept and municipal aspirations.