White Arkitekter, the architecture and design firm behind mass timber building Sara Cultural Centre, announced that the centre was awarded a bronze medal in the International Design Awards (IDA) 2021, in the architecture category Sustainable Living/Green.
The International Design Awards exists to recognise, celebrate, and promote exceptional design visionaries and discover emerging talent in Architecture, Interior, Product, Graphic and Fashion Design worldwide.
“We are so happy and honoured to be awarded a medal in the International Design Awards 2021 in Los Angeles. Knowing there was so many great projects from all over the world in the competition, it almost feels unreal,” said Oskar Norelius and Robert Schmitz, lead architects, White Arkitekter.
Based in Skellefteå, Sweden, Sara Cultural Centre was inaugurated in September 2021 and is one of the world’s tallest timber buildings to date. It stands at 75m tall, reaching about 20 storeys, and comprises approximately 30,000m2. By bringing back timber as a material in the urban fabric, the centre acknowledges Skellefteå’s historic timber tradition and local timber industry. It also promotes it by sourcing from sustainable forests located within an approximately 100km radius from the building site and processing in a sawmill approximately 50km from the site.
