Ett Arkitekt Kontor – An Architecture Studio

Huge change is afoot in the Arctic city of Kiruna. As part of a 100 year strategy to move the city eastwards, Ett Arkitekt Kontor is the city’s first architectural studio and a community hub where locals can drop in for a coffee, browse through drawings and reading material, and discuss Kiruna’s future together.

A distinctly local hub

A key strategy in the masterplan design for the new Kiruna is to reclaim and re-use materials and cultural artefacts from the former city. This is the same ethos that guides Ett Arkitekt Kontor. The name Ett Arkitekt Kontor was chosen to convey that this was an architecture studio, not the architecture studio – not a hub for architects, but for the people of Kiruna, possibly the first of many. Occupying a vacant store in the existing city centre, materials and furniture have been collected from different parts of Kiruna and reused to build the studio interiors, imbuing them with a distinctly local identity.

Client: White Arkitekter
Location: Kiruna, Sweden
Status: Completed 2015
Visuals: Fredrik Sweger

Encouraging people to take a hands-on approach to urban design.

The assemblage of objects that make up the interior span styles and decades; their historical legacy intrinsically links the studio with the emerging character of the new city. Objects that have been locally sourced or donated by residents, such as furniture and housewares, have been retrofitted with new elements to alter or improve their functionality.

The idea was not to have this flashy, luxury studio which wouldn’t suit the project – or us.

Monica von Schmalensee, CEO, White

Unlike most architecture studios, Ett Arkitekt Kontor belongs to the people of Kiruna, not the design team; if the users need new drawers, they can go to Kirunaportalen, pick some up and screw them to the wall. As such, the interiors and display have evolved – and will continue to evolve – to serve the needs of these residents as they plan their new home.

The central workplace desk is one surface that people can use for different activities. Someone can be standing drawing, another sitting and working on a computer. If more people need to use the office, people can squeeze up to make room.

Contact & Team

Martin Johnson

Architect, Methodology specialist

+46 766 39 47 23

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Tomas Landfeldt

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