The building of the Swedish National Museum was built in the form of neo-Renaissance in the middle of the 19th century by the Prussian architect Friedrich August Stüler, known primarily for the buildings on the Berlin Museum Island: the New Museum and the Old National Gallery. Over the past decades, the layout was significantly changed by restructuring, by the end of the 20th century, the Stockholm Museum was also dilapidated and did not meet modern requirements for such buildings (there was no climate control at all on the middle tier, the upper one needed a new such system, etc.). When Wingårdhs and Wikerstål Arkitekter commissioned the project in 2012, in addition to restoration and modernization, they were also tasked with expanding the museum's public space, creating new viewing routes and separate, safe paths for moving exhibits, making more use of natural light and views from windows.
The architects admit that the decisions they made during the design were largely determined by Stühler's intentions. The results of later reconstructions were removed, including for completely modern reasons: for example, to make it more convenient to place the climate control system, instead of the two large galleries of the upper tier created at the beginning of the last century, they returned the original enfilade from various rooms. The air is supplied at the desired temperature through the vents masked by rosettes in the center of the vaults - an ingenious move that combines the latest technology and traditions of artistic craft.
Among the key components of the project is the leveling of the floor in the premises of the first floor - two atriums, etc. Churches in the center: now they are flush with the paving of the entrance loggia and form a public space open to citizens without buying tickets, where you can relax, meet with friends, sit in a bar, cafe or restaurant. From the first floor, the office premises were completely removed, which until then sometimes occupied one of the most spectacular interiors in the entire city. The floors of the atriums raised by 175 cm made it possible to place under them large technical rooms, simultaneously buried in the rock foundation. On the other hand, in the former technical basement floor, the floors have been lowered: now there is a wardrobe and toilets.
The glazed ceilings of the atrium are flat in profile so as not to change the silhouette of the building, however, they are composed of "pyramids" so as not to reflect all sounds in the center of the room, amplifying the noise (a well-known problem of such glass ceilings, clearly manifested in the atrium of the British Museum, the work of Norman Foster) … In Stockholm, ceilings direct sound in different directions, and it is attenuated by a special coating on the walls. As a result, the atriums are suitable for large events.
The museum has a variety of elevators for transporting both visitors and works of art, the largest one for 97 people. The elevator shaft is located in the southern atrium, in a part of it previously inaccessible to the public. Outside, it is covered with a "wicker" of patinated brass: the material "is in harmony with the warm and soft character of the museum," the architects say. She became the most notable addition to the museum building - along with the technical building in the park, covered with a similar pattern, only made of concrete. The lower part of the elevator shaft can be opened on the sides: inside there is a large video screen that allows you to turn the atrium into a lecture hall.
Modern research shows that sunlight is not so terrible for old paintings (paint is most vulnerable when fresh), so the interiors of the National Museum make full use of the expressive possibilities of natural lighting and the connection between the exhibition and the urban space through the views from the windows. Existing bindings from the 1910s - 1920s have now been replaced with thinner steel bindings, and sun screens have also been installed.
