Sara Kulturhus (Sara Cultural Centre) in Skellefteå city centre was completed in the spring of 2021. Named after the famous local author, Sara Lidman, the 20-storey building spans an entire city block and houses a public library, museum, art gallery, theatre, conference centre and hotel. At almost 80 metres high, it is one of Europe’s tallest wooden buildings and was constructed using locally sourced forest timber.

The inspiration for White Arkitekter’s award-winning design for Sara Kulturhus came from the region’s long tradition of timber building – and was made possible by advancements in engineered timber technology. WSP was appointed early on as the main designer for the building’s foundations, global stability and frame completion. 

Our engineers worked alongside timber subcontractor, Martinsons, to develop two different hybrid construction systems for the cultural centre and hotel. 

The high-rise, 20-storey hotel with stunning views across the city is built using prefabricated cross-laminated timber (CLT) wooden room modules, placed between two CLT elevator cores. The four-storey cultural centre features structural elements made of prefabricated timber, including glue laminated (glulam) timber columns and beams and CLT cores and shear walls. 

In total, around 10,700 m³ of CLT and 2,600 m³ of glulam were used for the frame. The timber structure is estimated to store 9,000 tonnes of carbon during its lifetime, twice the amount estimated to have been emitted during its construction. 

Sara Kulturhus’s sustainable design, including its height, is enabled by bespoke hybrid elements combining timber with concrete and steel only where needed – maximizing the unique qualities of each material while saving embodied carbon. 

The trusses above the cultural centre’s foyers are made of glulam and steel to add strength, reducing the number of columns needed to create flexible, open-plan, accessible spaces. Three of its floors combine timber and concrete to enhance the stability of the whole building including the high-rise hotel, while also improving acoustics.