The robustly spatial, well-articulated structure defines and clarifies a complex situation. The transport hub has been reimagined as a worthy entrance to the city of Umeå.

Placing the structure in the middle has divided the broad thoroughfare into two well-proportioned street spaces with clear flows and simple navigation. The structure of the building embraces the different scales of the site, with its cross-section articulating and switching between the scale of the city, through its height and span, the scale of the buses and a human scale. The sturdy glulam beams expand outwards and define the site through the repeated stacking of identical wooden elements. There is something mystical about its appearance – solid but with a balanced lightness of touch. Natural light filters through the wooden frame down to the core of the structure, where passengers can sit and wait in close contact with the wood. The place takes on an identity all of its own in the interplay between person and wood.

 

Architect: Gert Wingårdh – Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Wood engineering: WSP

Wood construction company: Martinsons & PEAB

Photo credits: Åke E:son Lindman

© Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman © Åke E:son Lindman

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