Nobel Center

Its site at Slussen, where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea, has long been shaped by infrastructure, industry and the movement of people. Today, Slussen is evolving into a new network of public spaces, transport links and civic destinations. Within this evolving urban fabric, the Nobel Center emerges as a central cultural element, creating a new continuous public route that connects Fotografiska, the Stadsmuseet and the waterfront promenade.

The building is composed of interlocking volumes that respond to the topography of Södermalm. Their rhythm and proportions draw on the scale of the 17th-century merchant townhouses of the Old Town across the water, allowing the building to engage with Stockholm’s historic waterfront while reading as a single, coherent structure. Together with a new terrace in front of the building, the ground floor is conceived as an extension of the public realm, highly permeable and transparent, entrances to north and south, and a public foyer with shop and restaurant. It allows a fluid transition without thresholds between city and building, anchoring the Nobel Center in everyday urban life.

Inside, daylight is carefully orchestrated. Curated openings frame views to the city and the archipelago, offering moments of pause for the visitor’s journey through the building. Large north-facing windows in the uppermost floor highlight significant locations within the building, conveying the activities of the Nobel Center to the outside world.

The selection of material reflects a commitment to sustainability as an integral societal responsibility. A primarily timber structure is adapted to the site’s conditions to reduce load transfers and minimize embodied carbon. The façade of reclaimed red brick roots the building in the city’s identity and recalls Stockholm’s historic architecture. Found in significant public institutions such as the City Hall the brick lends the building a sense of permanence and gravitas in its representation of the Nobel Prize.