The Sara Cultural Centre in Skellefteå, Sweden, by White Arkitekter, is opening its doors to the public for the very first time. It’s one of the world’s tallest prefab timber towers and a showcase for sustainable construction. Standing at 75 metres tall, it is a carbon-negative building.

Robert Schmitz and Oskar Norelius, lead architects at White Arkitekter said: “Mass timber has emerged as one of the most sustainable solutions for building structures known today.

“Realising a full timber structure of a complex building with mixed uses, mixed volumetry, and a high-rise of 20 storeys, Sara Cultural Centre broadens the application of timber as a structural material and proves that timber is a viable solution for virtually any building type. We hope that this project helps others in our collective transition towards carbon neutrality.”

“One of the biggest challenges of the project was convincing people to build something that hadn’t been built before. But with the will and ambition to break new ground in wood architecture and sustainable construction.

“What we see now is the result of a great collaboration both with the municipality, partners, and our interdisciplinary team at White, where we all have worked diligently towards the same goal.”