Kiruna Former City Hall, Administrative building in Kiruna, Sweden
Kiruna Former City Hall was a building in central Kiruna, Sweden, inaugurated in 1963 and demolished in spring 2019. Architect Artur von Schmalensee called his design "Igloo" because of the low entrance leading into a large open hall with high windows. The interior was designed by architect SIR Folke Sundberg. The building also served as an art gallery.
The building was constructed between 1959 and 1962 and inaugurated in 1963 as the seat of Kiruna municipality's administration. In 1964 it and architect Artur von Schmalensee received the Kasper Salin Prize for Sweden's most beautiful public building. It was listed as a protected building in 2001, hosted the Arctic Council summit in 2013, closed on 10 August 2018 and was demolished in spring 2019 because of LKAB's mining.
Locals called the building "Kirunabornas vardagsrum", the living room of Kiruna's residents, because it worked as a well-used meeting place. After its demolition in 2019, the public was invited to take a brick home as a keepsake. In 2013 the Arctic Council summit met here, with foreign ministers including US Secretary of State John Kerry.
The building no longer exists: it closed on 10 August 2018 and was demolished in spring 2019, so there is nothing left to visit on site. Its clock tower was taken down in August 2017 for renovation and moved next to the new city hall, Kristallen, which opened in autumn 2018. After the demolition, the public could take a brick as a keepsake.
The building was called "Igloo" by its architect Artur von Schmalensee, after the low entrance leading into a large open hall with high windows. In 2013 it hosted a meeting of the Arctic Council, attended by foreign ministers including US Secretary of State John Kerry. After demolition in 2019, the public could take a brick as a keepsake.
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