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Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Nordic Architecture Sweden
time to socialise. There are opportunities to focus much more on this in city planning.” Locations provide inspiration Design is seen as an approach to the place and the circumstances, and more interesting than following a certain set style. A recent housing project in Russia provides a good example, where the team was given the task to design new buildings in an area considered traditional, conservative and monotonous. The challenge was to combine environmental, financial and social thinking in order to create something new and exciting, which also fits in the given location. With much appreciation from the Russian client, Semrén & Månsson managed to shift the conception of reality a few steps forward to a more social, humanist way of living. Renowned Avalon Hotel in Gothenburg is another great showcase of how the location itself has inspired the design. The goal for the team was to create an experimental building in a public environment, and the provocative design with its broken line manages at the same time to blend in with the urban landscape. Avalon Hotel is part of Design Hotels, and has been nominated for the Kasper Salin Prize and the European Mies van der Rohe Award. The building also won the Per and Alma Olssons Award for outstanding architectural design. A notable Semrén & Månsson project is also Clarion Hotel Post in Gothenburg, one of ten international buildings nomi-
Clarion Hotel Post.
nated for the European Copper in Architecture Awards. The 24,000 square metre old post office building was converted into a 10,000 square metre modern and exclusive design hotel, showing how a historic location can be used to form exciting, creative impressions with the combination of new and old. The building also functions as a living room and meeting place for the locals.
As well as being inspired by modern international architecture and the slow-city movement, Månsson admits to looking closely at the fashion scene for new ideas and concepts. “Fashion is often far ahead of the game. There is a lot going on with different fabrics, mixes of textures, uses of patterns and colours.” The future will tell what creative new ideas and awards this will lead to for the open-minded architect and his team.
More buildings for social interactions Semrén & Månsson is continuing its successful journey and was recently awarded a new high-profile project for Ekerum Resort Öland, having competed with four other firms and won the contract for building a new hotel. The location on the island of Öland, with its beautiful scenery and fantastic views, makes for an exciting development to kick off this autumn. Among other plans in the pipeline are an office development for Semcon in Gothenburg, several new housing projects in central Stockholm, and a Life Science building in the new urban district of Hagastaden.
IN BRIEF: Founded in 1969 by Per Rune Semrén. Offices in Gothenburg and Stockholm in Sweden, Stettin in Poland, and St. Petersburg in Russia. Nearly 100 employees, divided across the four offices. Subsidiaries Zynka and Zynka BIM, focusing on BIM development and 3D visualisation.
For more information, please visit: www.semren-mansson.se
Housing development in central Stockholm.
Issue 69 | October 2014 | 91