Stockholm: Come 2019, the prestigious Nobel prize will be awarded at a new center which is to be built at a cost of over USD 150 million here in the Swedish capital.
Nobel Center, to be built on the Blasieholmen peninsula along Stockholm’s central waterfront by the famous David Chipperfield Architects, will create a new platform for exhibitions, scientific seminars, lectures and discussions about current topics and events of various kinds. It will be open all round the year.
“The Center will be financed completely through private donations. The total estimated budget is 1.2 billion Swedish krona (Over USD 150 million),” said Susanne Lindh, chief executive officer of Nobelhuset AB, the company entrusted with building the Center. Some of the major donors till now have been the Erling-Persson Family (of H&M fame) and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundations, she says, adding the Swedish government has endorsed the project and promised operating grants after the Center opens.
Construction is scheduled to start early next year. Through its broad public activities, the Nobel Center will invite people into the Nobel Prize’s unique world of natural sciences, humanities and peace efforts and become a meeting place that inspires curiosity and creativity.
“The building will include an auditorium big enough to serve as a new venue for the Nobel Prize awards ceremony,” Lindh told PTI.
She, however, said a final decision on the awards venue will be taken later. The prizes are now given at the Stockholm Concert Hall. Currently there are also no plans to move the Nobel Banquet from the City Hall, she said.
One of the high points of the Center is that it will house the Nobel Museum. “The 1000 sq m space that the Nobel Museum at present has is far too less. We have visitors all along the year most of them students.
We also have many items donated by the Nobel Laureates for display which we are not able to do because of space constraint,” said Museum Director Olov Amelin. “Shifting to the Nobel Center will give us more space and a permanent address,” he said.
The Swedish government has endorsed the project and promised operating grants after the Center has opened.
Otherwise the aim is to finance the future activities of the Center using its own revenues from such sources as entrance fees, the shop and restaurants, conferences, the parking garage as well as donations and grants from partner organisations. In addition, the City of Stockholm will provide operating grants.
David Chipperfield Architects was selected after it won an architectural competition organised to identify the concept and design of the Center.
“This is a challenging concept for us. This project is for posterity. We are very excited as there has never been such a project before,” said Christoph Felger from David Chipperfield Architects.
While selecting the company, the jury said the proposed slender brass-clad building has an “elegant, timeless and attractive external appearance”, which can symbolise Nobel-related activities in a persuasive way.
“At the same time, it has a lightness and openness that are appealing. The building also features a good, clear floor structure that can allow future changes and a beautiful Nobel Auditorium.
The slim shape and moderate footprint of the building create good opportunities for pleasant outdoor settings on all sides of the building,” it said.
The Nobel Center will also have a shop, restaurant and cafe. In all, it will be a meeting place for everyone who wants to think innovatively, be inspired and make our world greater and hopefully better, said Lindh. (PTI)