Design Museum in Värnamo, Sweden by Renzo Piano

During Easter week, a contemporary design and art museum was opened in the woods of the Swedish province of Småland near the town of Värnamo. The new museum, named Vandalorum, was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano. The museum consists of a total of five wooden structures resembling traditional Scandinavian barns. Despite its area of 3,000 m², the museum blends perfectly into the surroundings with its dark red batten facade and metal gable roof. Large-scale glazing of the facades and sloping roofs provides high-quality lighting conditions inside the exhibition rooms, which distinguishes Piano's building from traditional barns. The museum will exhibit art and design that originated in the local region of Småland, renowned for its century-old tradition of the furniture industry.
The first exhibition, titled "Cyklar!" focuses on the theme of cycling and the bicycle as a revered cult and artistic object: in three rooms with a total area of 900 m², bicycles of all different shapes are on display. In addition to the entrance building, the museum also includes a cinema, a lecture hall, museum administration, a café, and a shop. Additional open spaces are reserved for public exhibitions, scientific seminars, and a library. Furthermore, a new study program in industrial design is expected to be created in collaboration with local manufacturers and universities in Gothenburg, Jönköping, and Växjö.
Renzo Piano got the commission for the provincial museum through the Parisian Centre Georges Pompidou, where Swedish designer Sven Lundh exhibited a project called 'Vandalorum' over thirty years ago. The original idea to build a museum in the midst of the Swedish wilderness originated in the early 80s, the project was presented in 1998, and the actual construction took place from 2010 to March 2011. In the following years, the museum is expected to be further expanded to ultimately create a 'village of contemporary design and art'.

More information >