斯德哥尔摩经济学院中心丨瑞典丨Johan Sundberg Arkitektur,Tengbom

Local studios Johan Sundberg Arkitektur and Tengbom used an exposed structure of pine and spruce to create a "sensory experience" at Kursgården Kämpasten, a campus of the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden.

Set within a secluded and forested slope close to Lake Mälaren on the outskirts of Sigtuna, the campus hosts the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE)'s executive education programmes.

Johan Sundberg Arkitektur and Tengbom have completed a new building for Stockholm School of Economics

Lund-based Johan Sundberg Architektur and Stockholm-based Tengbom were tasked with designing a new heart for the campus, following Kämpasten's former catering building being destroyed by a fire in 2018.

Looking to foster a closer connection with the picturesque site and surrounding woodland, the studios created a building with bright, open interiors, framed by an exposed timber and concrete structure and wrapped by full-height glazing.

An exposed structure of pine and spruce timber was used to create a "sensory experience"

"Our core concept was not merely to replace the lost function, but to reinforce the sensory experience of Kämpasten," Johan Sundberg Arkitekter founder Johan Sundberg told Dezeen.

"We aimed to create specific atmospheres - through spatial sequencing, materiality, and light - that help course participants feel a deeper connection to the place," he continued.

"The collaboration with Tengbom was structured to avoid the common pitfall where a project is handed off like a baton between a 'design architect' and a 'production architect.' Instead, we operated with 'shared custody' of the building."

The dining areas area held on the building's upper floor

Partially sunk into the sloping site atop an exposed concrete base, the building is spread across two storeys. Below are the conference, meeting, office and technical areas, while above the dining areas have been positioned to benefit from expansive views.

To the north, half of the building has been angled away from the rectilinear form of the dining areas, orienting its entrance towards a new communal square that has been created on the site of the former dining hall.

The triangular space created at the centre of the plan by this "angular shift" was used to house the bar and buffet areas as well as a concrete stairwell, beneath a central strip of skylights.

Kämpasten's interior finishes reflect the split between openness and enclosure across the building's two levels, with the timber frame left exposed on the upper level and infilled with timber panels below.

A concrete stairwell centres the plan

"This displacement of the main axes allows the roof ridge to 'crack' open, forming a lantern that sends daylight down into the deep centre of the building," said Sundberg. A central staircase distributes this light to the lower level."

The building sits atop an exposed concrete base

Sundberg founded his eponymous studio in 2006, while Tengbom is one of Sweden's oldest architectural practices, founded in 1906 by Ivar Tengbom and Ernst Torulf.

Recent projects by the studios include a stilted holiday home clad in Siberian larch by Johan Sundberg Arkitektur, and Tengbom's design for its own studio building in Stockholm, inserting a demountable fit-out into a renovated 1930s factory.

The photography is courtesy of Erik Lefvander.