In the town of Falken­berg in Sweden, the new Argus Learn­ing and Cul­tural Centre was com­pleted last year. Located in the city centre, it is designed as a space for cre­ativ­ity, curios­ity and for enjoy­ment of learn­ing. The build­ing com­plex houses the munic­i­pal library, a school, the tourist infor­ma­tion centre as well as a cul­tural school and cul­tural centre. Sit­u­ated between the his­toric market square and the new munic­i­pal park, the centre acts as a nat­ural meet­ing point.

Together with the munic­i­pal centre and town’s the­atre, the learn­ing and cul­tural centre forms a strong cul­tural clus­ter con­nect­ing the exist­ing centre of the town with its north­ern part, thereby increas­ing attrac­tive­ness of the dis­trict. The goal of the build­ing design by archi­tects Fojab Arkitek­ter AB was to con­tribute to ver­sa­til­ity and social sus­tain­abil­ity in the town. It rep­re­sents the largest invest­ment ever made by Falken­berg munic­i­pal author­ity to date, com­pris­ing two build­ings, the newly built Argus cul­tural centre and the upgraded, extended build­ing of the town’s sec­ondary school.

From the market place, vis­i­tors enter the foyer through the wel­com­ing main entrance — the win­dows of which are those of the children’s library and a café with an open-air seat­ing area. As well as a recep­tion and infor­ma­tion centre, the library is located here, extend­ing for almost 2800 square metres over two levels and sur­round­ing a large, uncov­ered inner court­yard. A green­space for use as a seated area for pre­sen­ta­tions and a children’s area with a fairy tale cave invites vis­i­tors to stay for a while and linger. The ren­o­va­tion has lent the school build­ing an entirely new char­ac­ter, chang­ing it from an old, dusky school into a bright, airy centre for learn­ing. A pedes­trian bridge links the gram­mar school with the cul­tural centre, thereby enabling access to the munic­i­pal park even when it is closed.

For the light­ing design, Fojab Arkitek­ter AB col­lab­o­rated with Car­o­line Hjal­mars­son, land­scape archi­tect LAR/MSA, who has used Olivio Grande, Medium and Spot lumi­naires to illu­mi­nate the public space in front of the cul­tural centre. Using Olivio gobo pro­jec­tors, it has been pos­si­ble to create artis­tic light­ing accents. The lumi­naires create a pleas­ant envi­ron­ment for any vis­i­tors who wish to stay for longer in this bustling loca­tion.

client: Falkenberg Municipality

lighting designer: Fojab Arkitekter AB / Caroline Hjalmarsson

electrical planning: Ledel AB

photographer: Werner Nystrand