Located just below the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden, Skellefteå has a long tradition of timber building; this was the primary inspiration behind the international competition winning design for the city’s new cultural centre. The proposal was named Sida vid sida – Side-by-side; a timber-frame tower complex that placed art, performance and literary organisations alongside each other in a spectacular setting. Sara Cultural Centre will be a new home for the Västerbotten Regional Theatre, Anna Nordlander Museum, Skellefteå Art Gallery, as well as the City Library. The complex will also contain a new hotel to accommodate the growing numbers of tourists to the city, as well as to provide a source of revenue for the local authority.
Robert Schmitz, architect and partner at White Arkitekter, He has a long experience in complex design projects with an emphasis on commercial office projects, cultural buildings, hotels and urban planning. Robert is named Stockholm Director of Competitions and is part of the Office Management. Robert has won many prestigious architectural competitions including Täby City Hall, for which he received an IDEA gold medal award in Los Angeles 2017. most recently the internationally acclaimed competition about Skellefteå Cultural Centre, becoming one of the tallest timber high rises in the world.