Universeum (Regnskogen rainforest)

Universeum grew out of a joint initiative by four Gothenburg institutions: the region's association of local authorities (Göteborgsregionens kommunalförbund), Chalmers University of Technology, the University of Gothenburg and the West Sweden Chamber of Commerce (Västsvenska handelskammaren). The client, Universeum AB, represented by Anna Nilson-Ehle, commissioned Gert Wingårdh's practice, with a team that included T. Hansen, G. Murnieks and B. Stenvaller, while FB Engineering handled the structural design. Built for 364 million kronor, the centre opened on Södra Vägen on 8 June 2001.

In 2004 it won the Träpriset, the timber architecture award run by Svenskt Trä, whose jury praised the match between the centre's ecological mission and its materials: renewable timber alongside recycled steel and aluminium. The centre is now operated by Universeum AB and the Stiftelsen Korsvägen foundation. In 2021 a timber immersive dome, the Wisdome, designed by the same practice, was added to the complex. In keeping with its educational purpose, Universeum also occasionally gives Swedish upper-secondary students the chance to debate with Nobel laureates and professors.

The building combines timber, steel, glass and concrete. It is made up of four clearly distinct blocks arranged as a sequence that stays easy to follow despite its complexity: visitors trace the path of water from the Swedish mountains through streams, lakes and sea, then through the South American jungle down to the lagoon at the bottom of the rainforest. Level differences inside the building exceed 30 metres, and the gross floor area is 10,700 m².

Facades and load-bearing structure rely on prefabricated glued-laminated timber, with heavy glulam beams left exposed; the exhibition spaces have timber floors and plywood walls, and surfaces inside and out are oil-stained. The rainforest fills five levels of hot, humid climate, where suspension bridges, a large tree house and the ruins of a riverside temple punctuate the route, accompanied by the roar of a waterfall.

The rainforest (Regnskogen) recreates a South American habitat. Birds fly freely, and visitors can watch sloths, which can turn their heads through 270 degrees, toco toucans, the largest of the roughly 40 toucan species, and Cuvier's dwarf caimans, whose males grow to at most 1.6 metres. Many of the species are threatened and part of conservation programmes: the Goeldi's monkey, listed as vulnerable, belongs to the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP). According to the centre's teaching material, the rainforest holds more than 600 animal and plant species.

The rest of the route follows the theme of water: the Vattnets väg section shows Swedish freshwater and brackish-water species, and the ocean hall (Akvariehallen) includes a 1.4-million-litre ocean tank and a 16-metre aquarium of native marine fish.

Universeum stands at Södra Vägen 50, next to the Världskulturmuseet (Museum of World Culture) and the Liseberg amusement park. Allow half a day for all the sections, including a good hour in the rainforest, where the humid heat makes light clothing a sensible choice.

The visit pairs easily with the neighbouring Världskulturmuseet or, about 1.5 km to the north-west, with the Palmhuset in Trädgårdsföreningen, the city-centre glasshouse of 1878, a fitting contrast between a nineteenth-century conservatory and a contemporary indoor rainforest.