The Swedish National Archives is one of Sweden’s oldest government agencies, entrusted with preserving archival material from the state administration. Safeguarding information and making it publicly accessible are central to its mission and form an essential part of an open and democratic society.
On Saltvikshöjden, north of Härnösand, the National Archives has established a new central archive facility. Although located within a newly developed business area, the site is distinguished by its dramatic setting, with expansive views across forested hills and the waters of Älandsfjärden below.
The new archive is a large and highly visible building with a clear and simple organizational concept. A robust archive volume in concrete is paired with a supporting administrative structure in timber, connected by a light-filled atrium. The building volumes are composed as simple rectilinear forms.
The archive section, necessarily enclosed, is embedded into the southern slope and designed to allow for future expansion. The administrative wing is oriented toward the northern views and offers a greater sense of openness, welcoming visitors into the building. Here, the overall volume steps down in scale, allowing sunlight to reach the protected natural landscape in front of the site.
The movement of archival material through the building has been carefully considered, from the receiving area through the production spaces, where documents are digitized and conserved, and onward into the archive storage facilities. Public functions are prominently placed and include a reception area, auditorium, and reading room within the atrium’s generous vertical space. The upper floor contains open-plan workspaces and a dining area with access to a rooftop terrace. The atrium itself reveals the archive within the building while accommodating both vertical and horizontal circulation.
More than one hundred people will work here alongside nearly 300,000 shelf metres of archival material. The archive section operates in many ways as a machine shaped by strict functional requirements, incorporating precise climate control, advanced fire protection systems, and a high level of security.
Longevity and openness have guided the project throughout. The architectural expression is intended to communicate durability and clarity, in harmony with the scale and character of the surrounding landscape. The building’s red coloration draws inspiration both from traditional Falun-red agricultural buildings and from the reddish granite cliffs of the High Coast.
The archive façades are constructed from pigmented concrete sandwich panels, articulated with enlarged joint grooves that emphasize the impression of stacked monolithic blocks. Roof drainage is expressed externally through large-scale concrete gutters, reinforcing the building’s robust and civic infrastructural character.
In contrast, the timber administration building is defined by façades of vertically mounted glulam panels in substantial dimensions, punctuated by carefully placed window openings. Inside, the glulam post-and-beam structure remains exposed, creating a robust yet warm architectural expression with a strong emphasis on materiality. Timber is used extensively throughout, including CLT panels, pine acoustic panels, ceilings of wood wool boards, and expanded metal mesh details.
Lead Architect: Pontus Eriksson
Lead Structural Engineer: Charles Davis
Project Architect: Weizhou Peng
Project Structural Engineer: Stefan Samuelsson
Project Team: Eyvind Bergström, Lottie Hedlund, Mattias Rappne, Karin Forssberg, Martin Christiansen, Jane Wennerlund Olsson, Kristofer Eklund, Xin Li, Anneli Hirsch Nordenadler, Stefan Lara Torres, Linn Sjöberg, Pascaline Salzedo Joubert, Johan Brännström, Khalid Majeed, Anton Rosenberg
Interior Architects: Tengbom through Kristina Jonasson (lead), Mårten Tovle, Johanna Garheden, Lisa Westergren, Evdokia Karamitzia, Per Vestergaard
Landscape Architects: Tengbom through Jenny Söderling (lead), Pia Englund, Thomas Erlandsson, Hannah Marschall, Elise Jonsson
Public Artwork: “The Containers” by Salad Hilowle
Contract Form: Design-bid-build contract in collaborative partnership
Main Contractor: PEAB
Certification: Miljöbyggnad Gold
Size: 35,000 sqm gross floor area, of which 24,000 sqm are archive facilities
Client: Specialfastigheter
Project Timeline: 2020–2025 (landscape works completed in 2026)