History & art
Strömpilen shopping mall is located in a unique shopping environment. The old wood refinery has carefully been transformed into a modern shopping destination, which is located in the eastern parts of Umeå. The location by Umeälven, its historic architecture, modern extensions and interesting artistic decorations create an attractive interplay. The magnificent white main building of Strömpilen shopping mall was once upon a time a pulp mill, which was called Sofiehem's pulp mill. The mill was built in 1926 and was in production until 1991. The ambitions were high when the mill of Sofiehem was built. The goal was to create a model mill, the most modern mechanical pulp mill in Europe. The fa'ades are designed in neoclassical style and once upon a time there was a garden with apple trees on all sides of the mill. The building proprietor was Arne Umander-Scharin and the design was done by Tor Kempe at the engineering firm Blomgren & Co in Stockholm.
Art
Rhizome I
Antony Gomely, 1998, cast iron
Anthony Gomely is a sculptor who lives and works in England. He has worked with the image of human beings in his sculptures and has often used his own body as a model, tool and material. In his artwork, he expresses how the body can be seen as a place of memories and changes, and how each individual relates to humanity, the collective body.
Line of Thoughts
Tony Cragg, 2003, bronze
Tony Cragg is an English sculptor who lives and works in Germany. He often works with scientific theories as his source of inspiration. In "Line of Thoughts" the observer can experience how the energy flows, how the fixed form dissolves and then changes. When walking around the sculpture, the observer can see hidden human images take form.
Gul & Blå
Curt Fors, 1998, aluminium and nylon.
Curt Fors had his break through in the beginning of the 1960s and has since been working within the modernistic tradition with focus on non-depictive art, graphic, collage and sculpture. He is represented at The National Museum in Stockholm and at Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris. He lives in France during most of the year.
Vattentrappa
Claes Hake, 1998, granite and water
Claes Hake is a Swedish sculptor who has become famous for his monumental stone sculptures. Gates, wave movements and pillars in stone can be seen at several different places in Sweden and in other countries. Hake lives in Gothenburg and has in many of his sculptures chosen to work with granite, which is the primary rock in Bohuslän.
Architecture
The Mill - Strömpilen Shopping Mall
In 2000 the then property owner Balticgruppen Fastighet AB, as well as the architecture Susanne Åström, were awarded Umeå Municipal's Prize for perseverance of good architecture during the reconstruction of the Mill.
The Warehouse - Offices
The warehouse is located in a beautifully historical wooden environment, by the river. The model for this warehouse is the warehouse of old times that bordered the quays of Umeå. The modern warehouse accommodates a modern office environment. The ends of the warehouse have lots of windows to create a feeling of space and openness. Spruce panelling decorates the facades of the warehouse. The windows have wooden shutters that filter the light and give the building a changing appearance. The wood is similar to that of old boats, which were treated with linseed oil, tar and turpentine.
Architect: Susanne Åström, White Arkitekter AB.
Boathouses - Offices
The four boathouses are built according to the appearance of the domestic boathouse tradition with red wooden houses with tin roofs. Boathouses were traditionally built along Swedish coasts and rivers to serve as storages and workspaces. Strömpilen's boathouses are designed and furnished as offices.