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"From Lada to Folly" investigates the relationship between an agricultural artefact of Northern Sweden, ladan, and the move of the city of Kiruna. A lada is a structure to store hay which dates back to medieval times as a part of månghussystemet, a Swedish building tradition where each house on a farm had one function. Ladan was analysed on different scales through mapping, photography and model making with the aim of understanding its relation to the landscape. The scale, placement and orientation were the most significant. Subsequently, this information was translated via diagrams to form the basis of a proposal in Kiruna. Four core values are the foundation of Kiruna: timber, water, iron and people. Timber, because the first buildings were built out of wood and because coal from the forest was used to fuel the engines of the mine. Water, as a mode of transportation and a source of energy. Iron, the oar is the main reason why Kiruna exists. People, in the same way natural resources have been extracted out of Kiruna, people have been sent to the city to facilitate this process. Through four corresponding landscapes in the new city centre, the core values forming the origin of Kiruna is revealed. A folly, an unprogrammed structure erected to enhance a landscape and derived from the lada, is placed on each site functioning as a shelter and contextualising the intervention to the region of Northern Sweden. As architecture most often are physical obstacles built to orchestrate our lives, not allowing but limiting our behaviour, this proposal seeks to create free spaces in the city where not the architect but the people themselves can dictate what will happen. Who is the architect to decide whether someone should eat, make love or die in their structure?

I have always known that I would leave my hometown. Always been told that it is too boring for a dreamer, that it is a place where all ambition wanes. None of my childhood friends stayed; we all moved towards something bigger, something better- towards opportunities. We all moved, to some degree, south. Depopulation of rural communities is not unique to Norrland but Tankebanan investigates this topic within the context of the northern inlands of Sweden, exploring its industrial history and local conditions. The project aims to create an infrastructure strengthening the social and cultural capital of the inland by generating educational, entrepreneurial and identity building activities in the region. The site of the project stretches along Malmbanan, the railway transporting iron from the industries of the inland to the ports of Narvik and Luleå. The tracks are a physical trace of the industrial history of the region and therefor a suitable location for the project that proposes three fixed nodes along the railway, each targeting one specific aspect of the knowledge network. The nodes are Creation in Abisko, Education in Kiruna and Entrepreneurship in Gällivare.Tankebanan reprograms old carbarns within the towns into hubs of activity and optimism, aiming to challenge the pessimism often connotated with the region, causing people to leave. It aims to turn struggles into challenges and encourage young people to see the potential within themselves and within Norrland. This phase of the project explores the node of Education in Kiruna, which proposes an alternative university for those who wish to obtain a degree without leaving the north. The program consists of a public library and train station, educational facilities, conference rooms and accommodation for long distance commuters. It is hosted within a modular system, relating to the module of the train car and extending the network of the rails into the building.

In Norrland, forests make up the biggest area of land, where different activities and actors exist in the same locations. Conflicts arise when different actors and agendas clash, making it hard to have a sustainable co-existence in the forest. Through forest research and other initiatives, new methods and strategies are being explored to make co-existence possible. Currently there is a gap between the research and its end user, as well as a dislocation of research facilities where most are located along the coast instead of the inland and the forest. Can architecture be a tool to raise awareness about nature and forests, making it a common concern? The proposal is to create a forest research center in the forest in the inland, where actors work and activities take place. The building combines the different users, creating a space where researchers and forest owners can share knowledge and experiences, and work towards a sustainable management without conflicts. Through the program of the building, the public get access to knowledge and become involved in the politics and management of the forest. The design explores and exposes the possibilities of wood, where incremental design showcases the impact of nature., I Norrland utgörs den största andelen land av skog, där olika aktiviteter och aktörer verkar i samma områden. När aktörer med olika agendor ska samsas på samma plats uppstår ofta konflikter som leder till en ohållbar miljö. Genom att ha en överblick över alla aktiviteter utforskar svensk skogsforskning och andra initiativ nya metoder och strategier som kan möjliggöra en hållbar samexistens i skogen. Än finns dock ett glapp mellan forskare, skogsägare och andra aktörer, som inte förbättras av att forskningsanläggningarna är belägna längs kusten istället för inlandet och skogen. Kan arkitektur vara ett verktyg för att öka allmänhetens medvetenheten och intresse för naturen och skogen? Mitt förslag är ett center för skogsforskning i Västerbottens inland, där aktörerna arbetar och bedriver sina verksamheter. Byggnaden kombinerar de olika användarna och skapar en plats där forskare och skogsägare kan utbyta kunskap och erfarenheter, och samarbeta för en hållbar skogshållning som minimerar konflikter. Genom byggnadens program får allmänheten tillgång till kunskap om skogspolitik och skötsel, vilket kan leda till starkare engagemang och medvetenhet. Designen utforskar och visar trä som byggnadsmaterial, där uppbyggnaden över tid förstärker naturens påverkan.