In front of the entrance of the recently opened Textile Fashion Center, which houses the Swedish School of Textiles, lies a carpet of stone, 110 meters long and eleven meters wide. The pattern of the carpet was inspired by a method for weaving complex patterns introduced in 1805 by J. M. Jacquard, its design thus representing the legacy of textile production. Constructed using three different types of granite, this linear plaza serves as the primary public space for the school, programmed with various activities to ensure a lively social life for students, faculty, and staff.
The city of Borås is considered the heart of the Swedish textile industry. The Textile Fashion Center, known locally as Simonsland, hosts educational programs for textile designers as well as a museum devoted to the subject. Since 2014 these activities have been situated in an assembly of old factory buildings that date from the 1870s. In the life of the students, the outdoor areas play an important role. The students’ primary social interaction takes place here, as do informal meetings, seminars, and the free-flowing discussions important for a rich academic life. Simonsland offers many such spaces, spaces marked by different qualities: shaded, sunny, bustling, or intimate. The River Viskan runs through the campus, offering an opportunity to experience, or even engage with, water.
In the agglomerated dense campus area, separate outdoor rooms are found. Complementing the entrance zone with its granite carpet is a shaded, almost mystical, space having the river as its floor, and suspended walkways hugging the building façades around it. Further along, a new pedestrian bridge with a see-through floor links the two banks of the river.
Textile Fashion Center, Borås, Sweden
Landscape architect: Thorbjörn Andersson @ Sweco Architects
Design Team: PeGe Hillinge, Staffan Sundström, Ronny Brox, Per Johansson (lighting)
Consultants: DTH Arkitekter, with Sweco Architects, Stiba (construction).
Area: 40,000 square meters
Opening: 2014
SWECO Architects
P.O. Box 17920
SE- 118 95 Stockholm, Sweden
Telephone +46 8 522 952 00
For further information contact
Thorbjörn Andersson, Sweco Architects
