On November 10, 2021, Karlskrona's World Trade Center was inaugurated, the portal building in the new central district of Pottholmen. A five-storey office building with a facade of folded corten steel, alluding to the area's industrial history.
Pottholmen is in the process of being transformed from a closed railway yard area to Karlskrona's new entrance. The World Trade Center, designed by FOJAB in collaboration with property owner OBOS Kärnhem, gives the city a new meeting point in a strategic location next to the travel center and railway square. A modern and flexible office building with a strong environmental focus.
The main architectural elements are drawn from the surroundings: the shipyard, military history and the archipelago. The building takes the form of a classic city block with simple volumes around a leafy courtyard. The composition of the façade borrows from Karlskrona's historic street scenes, while a band of low windows creates bright, comfortable rooms.
The rustic and robust corten steel anchors the house to the site, alluding both to Falu's red color and the city's history of boat building and shipbuilding. The steel withstands the coastal climate well and will only get more beautiful over the years.