Contemporary architecture

High-tech, free forms, glass and mass timber – architecture since the 1970s.

There is no shared style today, but several currents stand out clearly. High-tech displays structure and services on the outside. The computer has made free, double-curved forms possible. And the climate question has brought timber back as a building material, now in tall buildings of cross-laminated timber.

Since the 1970s architecture has splintered in many directions. Globalisation produced star architects who build all over the world, and the computer made new forms possible. In the 21st century the climate has become the great issue: converting rather than demolishing, building in timber and making cities denser. In Sweden timber construction has taken off, supported by a strong forestry industry.

Turning Torso in Malmö, Sara Cultural Centre in Skellefteå, Moderna Museet and new mass-timber buildings in cities such as Stockholm and Växjö show the breadth of contemporary Swedish architecture.