AULA MEDICA BY WINGÅRDHS

A university auditorium that is leaning towards an emerging cityscape

Swedish architecture firm Wingårdhs already proved last year with the Emporia they will be among firms to look at in 2014. And they didn’t make us wait for their next big move. It takes the form of an auditorium built for Karolinska Institutet in Solna, Sweden. And if the materials and shape used on this Aula Medica easily remind us of the Emporia, the purpose of this auditorium is elsewhere. Of course, the primary role of a university auditorium appears to be clear, but the real intrigue comes from the current location of the building. The Aula was originally supposed to be built on a remote site behind existing buildings, but it was moved to an exposed location and will become the cornerstone of the emerging cityscape. Its curved lines make even more sense as they seem to stretch and create a link between the 1940’s university and the new city.