2021-06-15
FOJAB develops cultural heritage in Blekinge archipelago
The Swedish National Property Board has appointed Mattias Hedberg Ek, an architect at FOJAB, as house architect for Karlskrona's archipelago islands. The newly established assignment is largely about making the archipelago buildings more accessible to the public.
The islands with their buildings are landmarks and symbols of Karlskrona and tell how the naval town and its important port were protected. Several of the facilities are state building monuments. Previously, the house architect assignment for the islands was part of a single assignment for the whole of Karlskrona, which the National Property Board now chooses to divide into three.
Wide range of skills
- We notice that interest in the Blekinge archipelago is growing and we are sitting on a diamond in the rough in these islands. We had several qualified applicants for the assignment, where Mattias Hedberg Ek was the one considered most suitable and with a good consulting group behind him, says Maria Nordh, property manager SFV Syd.
Mattias Hedberg Ek is an architect at FOJAB and has previously worked for the National Property Board as castle architect at Bäckaskog Castle in northeastern Skåne and house architect for Residenset in Kristianstad. He will lead a general consulting group from FOJAB consisting of landscape architect Caroline Hertzman, interior designer Ewa Jeppsson, accessibility expert Maria Listrup, responsible for Bas-P Lars Nilsson and sub-consultants.
Making it accessible to visitors
The mission in the Karlskrona archipelago is very much about opening up the unique environments for visitors. For example, that there should be a jetty where boats can moor, that the need for escape routes is met, or major initiatives such as the installation of solar cells on Utklippan to secure the electricity supply.
- More people should be able to experience the fantastic environments in the Karlskrona archipelago. Many of the buildings on the islands are not particularly easy to experience today and we will work to develop them for visitors. We will add new values to the old cultural buildings," says Mattias Hedberg Ek.
Responsibility for the whole
- The National Property Board is an important customer for us, and we naturally want to contribute to our common cultural heritage. FOJAB has been involved in various assignments for SFV for a long time, but since the beginning of the 2000s we have developed a clear desire to take greater responsibility for the project as a whole, which has led to more and larger general consulting assignments. We have an ambition to further broaden our scope in cultural heritage management and this is a step in that direction," says Daniel Nord, CEO of FOJAB.
The mandate is for three years, with the possibility of extension for a further six years.
