LåMA art gallery

LåMA, Långedrag Modern Art is a small art gallery, situated on a residential plot in a western suburb of Gothenburg. The owners have previously run a gallery in the city center and as the idea to build their own art gallery grew, they contacted us at STEG Architects to implement their idea.

The project site is limited by the distance to neighboring properties in the south and west and also by a rock in the east. The permitted area of a maximum 25 square meters was also part of the challenge as well as a height limit of four meters.

Our approach was to work with the volume in a sculptural way. The skewed shape and the garden rock both became part of the building's external expression. It resulted in an aesthetically cohesive and solid building with a playful shape.

An art gallery needs as large and durable wall space as possible in combination with good lighting. We chose a construction of CLW, cross laminated wood. With a cladding of matt black strip-covered sheet metal. The ceiling has a large triangular skylight, framing the sky to the northeast and giving the room a soft natural light. The sky light is complemented by artificial light in the form of a dimmable LED rail and adjustable spotlights.

It was a challenge to accommodate an entire exhibition in such a limited space, but due to its shape, high ceiling and large windows to the sky, the room gives an airy impression.

With only room for a few visitors at a time, the art gallery has become an innovative framework to participate in the art scene in a new way: in a garden, in a residential area and on a smaller scale. The concept proved to be most suitable even during a pandemic.