Kiruna's new City Hall – The Crystal | Henning Larsen

The new city hall in Kiruna is inspired by the city's special character, culture and history. The city hall, which has already been named Krystallen – The Crystal – will become the city's natural gathering point, where the traditions of democracy will be united with a vision about a dynamic meeting place for politics as well as social and cultural events.

The city hall consists of an inner and an outer building volume. The inner building is shaped like a crystal. The shape is inspired by the enormous concentration of iron ore that is found in the area's underground. Extraction of iron ore constitutes the city's basis of existence. The Crystal is publicly accessible and it comprises exhibition rooms, workshops, a city council hall, meeting rooms and balconies that are stacked on top of each other up through the building. The Crystal is the city's and the citizens' city hall, but it is also a landmark for Kiruna, which will stand out clearly a long way off due to its reflective surface.

The outer building floats like a ring around The Crystal, protecting it against the rough weather conditions of the region. This building comprises offices for the staff of the municipality's different departments. The building's shape forces the wind to move around the volume, ensuring that snow will not settle up against the building. The ring symbolises democracy, community and solidarity.

Kiruna's new city hall is a democratic building.

Due to its round shape, the building opens up to the entire city. There is public access to the city hall via a flight of stairs, where you can either move through the current exhibition or continue straight up to the top of the building. Inside the city hall, the democratic process is supported by the interplay between offices at the periphery and public functions at the heart of the building.