Museum of World Culture Gothenburg, West Sweden Building Images, Architect, Design, Photos

Museum of World Culture, Sweden : Världskulturmuseet Göteborg

Modern Gothenburg building design by Brisac Gonzalez Architects

post updated 28 Mar 2021 ; 28 Sep 2007

Museum of World Culture Gothenburg

Location: Gothenburg, south western Sweden
Date built: 2004
Design: Brisac Gonzalez Architects

photos © Hélène Binet

Världskulturmuseet Göteborg

Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg

A new major national museum including exhibition galleries, university research centre, library, 200-person auditorium and restaurant.

Världskulturmuseet Göteborg Building

The site is situated at the foot of a hill, at the southeastern edge of central Gothenburg. It is directly adjacent to Sweden’s most visited tourist attraction, the Liseberg Amusement Park.

The museum is a new exhibition platform for the collections of the Folkens Museum Etnografiska, the Mediterranean Museum and the East Asian Museum, all presently situated in Stockholm together with the Ethnographic Museum in Gothenburg. The new building has an auditorium, a research center, a library, restaurant and administrative offices. The building will also serve as a new forum for international and local events.

photos © Hélène Binet

The building is a simple and compact container wherein the legacy of mankind and the contemporary are united. The strategy consists of a clearly marked difference between a solid west-side containing the gallery spaces along the street and an open east-side toward the hill where public activities take place.

The latter will on the one hand reveal the museum’s rich interior to the 3 million people who visit the Liseberg Park annually, while on the other it will allow the museum’s visitors to experience the exterior landscape from a variety of different vantage points.

Between the solid west and the open east is a canyon-like zone containing the building services. The public circulation weaves its way through the three elements. As one goes up the building, the elements which were seen from below are gradually perceived from above, creating a sequence of reference points throughout the building with alternating views of the hill, atrium and museum.

Museum of World Culture Gothenburg – Building Information

Client: Statens Fastighetsverk (National property board – Ministry of Finance)
Project value: £26m
Scope: First prize – Open international competition in two stages
Scheme design, Detail design, Tender documents, Site supervision
Date: 1999
Completion Date: Dec 2004
Surface area: 10 950 m² new construction