Kuggen Goteborg

Kuggen is nestled in among Lindholmen’s big office buildings, like a colorful blossom surrounded by gray leaves. Its form and color are not immediately revealed. The round building looks different from every direction. The upper floors project out over the lower—more on the south side than on the north, so that the building partially shades itself when the sun is high in the sky. A rotating screen shades the top floors, following the sun’s path around the building. These details change the building’s character from one side to another, and over the course of the day. Finally, its brocade of glazed terracotta panels takes on different appearances depending on our viewing angle and the changing daylight conditions. Kuggen strives to be an extremely energy efficient office building. The cylindrical form offers lots of floor space in relation to the amount of exposed exterior wall surface, and the triangular windows provide both open-plan office landscapes and private offices with good daylight, reducing the need for artificial lighting. The projection of the upper stories limits the bothersome glare of direct sunlight inside, and also expands the usable floor area. The building grows larger by two facets for each new floor.