A SUBSTATION GLOWING WITH CONFIDENCE
Gubbängen's electricity distribution station contributes to meeting the requirements for increased capacity for Stockholm's expanding southern suburbs . The newly built technology facility serves as a hub for power transmission from the existing receiving station. With an innovative illuminated facade solution, an extra dimension is created for the facility.
Technical facilities should take their place in the city by showing their function with confidence. The concept here is that the lighting and the interaction between the building's volumes should give the distribution station a glowing character that is visible in the dark and create security and interest around the site. The building has been constructed in a polished frame of light prefabricated concrete with facade cladding of gold-coloured, perforated cassettes that create a visual depth against the polished surface of the concrete. The square sheet cassettes consist of four triangles joined together in a flat pyramid. The perforation in the plates varies to give the pattern effect. From a sustainability perspective the project's quality light fixtures and optimal dispersion angles to minimize the number of light fixtures has also resulted in protection from tagging and graffiti.
PRIZE-WINNING LIGHTING DESIGN
Time and care have been put into scale test lighting. Sweco Lighting designers have worked diligently and experimented with different patterns, symmetries, hole sizes and scattering angles that were printed out with lasers and test-lit repeatedly.
Gubbängen's distribution station won the LIT Lighting Awards 2022 in the category Bridges and Public Infrastructures Lighting and in the category Exterior Architectural Illumination. The project was nominated in the category "Architectural lighting design" at the Dezeen awards 2022 and was awarded an honorable mention in the Swedish Light Prize 2022 competition.