group work,
KTH School of Architecture / Alteration course
+ backstage
Skatteskrapan, designed by the Swedish architect
Paul Hedqvist, is located on Götgatan in the
heart of Södermalm in Stockholm. The 25 floor
tower housed the entirety of the Swedish National
Tax Board offices from 1960-2003. At ground
floor, both staff and public entered the central
core of the tower. From here, the staff ascended
to the various offices in the building, while the
public climbed a central stairs to access the Hall
of the Public.
The significance of this hall was embedded in
the function it served to the public. It was to this
room they frequented to deal with all matters
regarding their identity in the society and to the
state. The splendour of this space was highlighted
through the lavish use of materials and detailing.
With the conversion of the offices into student
accommodation in 2007 the processional access
to the Hall of the Public was lost forever. This
hall still exists but most of its splendour and
refinement has been removed to house commercial
activities. The atmosphere and identity of the
room has therefore been altered. Due to commercial
and ownership reasons, the grand staircase
that once led to this Hall of Public is now
cut off by a white partition, reducing it to a staircase
that leads to nowhere.
The ghostly white wall now covers what was
there before. This installation is in effect an effort
to describe the potency of what is gone and to
uncover what was lost in alteration.
Sofie Andersson
Teodor Åström
Elton Chan
Olga Krukovskaya
Suzanne Maverley
Klára Skarková
Elsa Smeds
Exhibition, September, 10-11
at Arkitekturmuseet, Skeppsholmen, Stockholm