Wenner-Gren Center, Office building in Vasastaden, Stockholm, Sweden
The Wenner-Gren Center consists of three distinct buildings: a 25-story tower called Pylon, a semicircular structure named Helicon, and a box-shaped building called Tetragon. Together these structures form a modern office complex designed to house international research institutions and accommodation for visiting scientists.
Swedish businessman Axel Wenner-Gren founded this center in the 1960s following a push from Nobel laureate Hugo Theorell, who advocated for proper housing facilities for visiting researchers. The project became a statement of support for international science in Sweden.
The center serves as a hub for international research, hosting scientists from around the world who come to work in Stockholm. The buildings create a gathering place where researchers from different fields meet and collaborate on their projects.
The complex sits where Sveavägen meets Sveaplan in Vasastan, with the low Tetragon building nearest the street and the Pylon tower behind it. Helicon, the semicircular wing, holds the guest-researcher flats and is not open to visitors; the tower's offices and the foundations' floors are reached by appointment. The festival floor high in the Pylon can be booked for events.
The low section and tower are laid out like a sundial and follow the outline of Ormträsket, a small pond that once stood here; the block is still called Ormträsket. During the 2025 facade renovation, 1960s advertising paintings for Kungsörnen and Kellogg's were found.
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