Room for nature: a visitor's centre for the botanical gardens in Gothenburg

Abstract

The fast pace of the city can often feel wearing and hectic. To find peace and quiet, nature can often offer an escape for many people and for some the tranquillity of nature can act as an almost religious or contemplative substitute. Regardless of how nature is perceived or experienced by various people, I doubt that there are few who would not feel relaxed when being present in a serene natural landscape, at least when it is not rainy or cold. In a slight contradiction, I can sometimes get the impression that there, at least in Sweden, is a sort of stress to go out in nature in order to grasp the fleeting, but very desirable tranquillity that nature has to offer during the part of the year that it is as most pleasurable. In Gothenburg – this web or road, chaos and stress – there are fortunately a few green islands or serenity and peacefulness. During the Corona pandemic, the Botanical gardens and Änggårdsbergen acted as such a place for me. In this project I will be designing a visitor’s centre for the botanical gardens in Gothenburg. Such a visitor’s centre is currently in development and a winning proposal has already been selected and planned for construction. In addition to a visitor’s centre it will also include a large greenhouse complex. Since such a project is already underway, it indicates that there is a need for a building that can inform and inspire more visitors to learn about nature and botany. The visitor’s centre and greenhouses will further strengthen the attractiveness of the botanical gardens in Gothenburg that already draws a large number of visitors of around 500 000 each year. Furthermore, such a room dedicated to nature would be of great interest to school classes that wishes to embark on excursions over the day and for university students studying botany where they will be able to utilise this building as part of an enhancement of their education. In fact, the botanical gardens already has extensive collaboration with the university faculty. The method for this project is to work contextually in such a way as to abstract forms that adhere to the context of the Botanical Gardens - in this case flowers. I will be using this as the driving generator for the design of the floor plan but also for various architectural elements.