UPD 2013-11-24 The finalists of the competition are announced David Chipperfield, Gert Wingord (Wingårdh Arkitektkontor) and Johan Selsing (Johan Celsing Arkitektkontor). The names of all the authors of the projects are also disclosed, and we have now indicated them in the captions to the illustrations.
All Nobel Prizes, except for the Peace Prize awarded in Oslo, are awarded in the Swedish capital, where the laureates read their Nobel Lectures and ceremonial receptions are held in their honor. The scene of the action is the city concert hall and the town hall, but the idea of building a special building for the prize has existed since the first years of the 20th century, when its history began. Now it is closer to implementation than ever: in 2011, a site was allocated for the new Nobel Center in the center of Stockholm, on the Blasieholmen Peninsula, next to the National Museum, then a closed architectural competition began, and now its 11 participants presented their projects to the public.
The names of the contestants were known from the beginning, but the projects were submitted anonymously to make the selection easier for the jury, chaired by Lars Heikensten, director of the Nobel Foundation.
Of the eleven participants, half are Scandinavians:
these are Danes 3XN, Lundgaard & Tranberg and BIG, Norwegians Snøhetta, Swedes Gert Wingord (Wingårdh Arkitektkontor) and Johan Selsing (Johan Celsing Arkitektkontor).
Also among the contestants - David Chipperfield, OMA, SANAA, Lacaton & Vassal and swiss Marcel Meili, Markus Peter Architekten.
In addition, the organizers invited the Herzog & de Meuron workshop, but they refused to participate.
The new building will house the Nobel Foundation, an educational center, museum premises, a library, spaces for exhibitions, conferences and other events, as well as a cafe and restaurant.
The slogans of the competition projects range from the poetic "Landing Seagulls" and the enigmatic "Room and a half" to the verbose "We believe in the ability of a building to attract activities and individuals; create a society”.
In November 2013, the jury will name from two to five participants in the second stage of the competition, and in April 2014 the winner will be determined, whose work will become the basis for the "real" design.
The full projects of the participants can be viewed on the competition website: www.nobelcenter.se.
