The Tannery (Garveriet) was in its prime in the 19th century. Economic and industrial development eventually forced operations to close. The grounds became a shabby, forgotten area where almost no one except the police had a purpose for visiting. The buildings fell in despair. The ground was contaminated.
Today it is a mecca for food connected to sustainability issues. The old tannery has been transformed to a quality food destination combined with a brand-new light and bright wooden church.
Regional
Sweden
Västra Götaland
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
2019-12-01
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): Kaminsky Arkitektur Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: David Last name of representative: Chocron Gender: Male Nationality: Sweden Function: Graphic designer / PR Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Viktor Rydbergsgatan 14 Town: Göteborg Postal code: 41132 Country: Sweden Direct Tel:+46 31 761 20 01 E-mail:david@kaminsky.se Website:https://kaminsky.se
Floda is a typical middle-class suburb where people eat, sleep and commute. It is situated about 30 kilometers east of Gothenburg, Sweden's second largest city.
A few hundred meters from the small square, where the lake turns into a stream that continues towards Gothenburg, lies the Tannery (in swedish Garveriet). A rough, beautiful stone and concrete building side by side with an airy, light and newly built wooden ecumenical church.
The old tannery was in its prime in the 19th century. Economic and industrial development eventually forced operations to close. The grounds slowly became a shabby, forgotten area where almost no one except the police had a purpose for visiting. The buildings fell in despair. The ground was contaminated.
Today it is a mecca for food with a strong connection to sustainability issues. The old tannery has been transformed to a quality food destination.
The mixture of a genuine well taken care of rustic building paired with a brand-new light and bright wooden church exceeded our highest expectations.
Traditionally a church is located at the highest point in the parish, often becoming a bit secluded from the society and thus relevant only for its members. Here it is the other way around. The church now has come closer to the people, to a place where all generations move. It's easy for anyone to slip in. A win win-situation.
When the operation and business started it was a party for all the senses. Conversations, sunlight, freshly baked bread. Food for thoughts.
Sustainability
Social connections
Place-building
Welcoming
Recycle
The cheapest and easiest way would have been to demolish the building and start over from scratch, but a committed property owner had a vision which meant keeping as much as possible to preserve the soul of the area. The first thing that came in place was a wood-fired oven for baking bread.
The grounds have been decontaminated, the factory gently renovated and supplemented with a modern newly built church, completely made from local grown wood. South facing roofs are covered with solar cells. In the Tannery, all activities follow a common thread. The key words are meet and learn. The menu is based on the season. The food and bread is organic, ecological and done with as little waste as possible.
A declined and forgotten place has been transformed into a rallying point for sustainable change and community across generations.
Obviously, the architectural achievements give the project a certain distinctive character, but it is even more the ongoing development of the operation that creates its unique atmosphere. New ideas and new approaches pop up constantly.
The architectural challenge was to bring the various activities together. A church congregation, leisure associations, private actors with a profit interest ...
The buildings complement each other. The old tannery is meticulously renovated since we did not want to distort it. Furniture, windows, floors, walls and most original interior items are preserved, taken care of and reused.
The wooden church, however, we have been able to build from scratch and it is done by the book. Among other things, an acoustics expert ensured that the sound is high-class, almost like in a concert hall.
The materials are not so luxurious as you might expect for a church. Almost everything is made out of wood and kept neutral, with no symbols. It's easy to feel quite small in a traditional church. In this building you will not be diminished. The wood contributes to the warm feeling.
Some rooms are flexible, with sliding walls, so that they can be made larger or smaller and used in many different ways. The few materials we added are well thought out, the colors are environmentally friendly. It has a modern feel. Timeless.
The church has activities for children, the area is very permissive for the elderly, young families can eat good food and drink coffee, there is something for those who are out hiking and those who want can just head up to the second floor to play with colors.
Universal design is key in the building. In the Tannery an elevator has been installed and in the entrance floor all premises from church to restaurant can be reached without passing thresholds or height differences.
The facility is managed to a certain extent by the municipality. Every day we get help from between twenty and thirty people in need of on-the-job training and a possibility to develop their networking skills.
The fish farm is one element. They also take care of the hen house and is also involved in looking after the greenhouse. They come to the Tannery, grow as individuals and at the same time fulfill an important function.
Restrictions during the covid 19 pandemic brought up the idea of a food safari. All restaurants in the Floda area each offers a take-away box which means a six-course menu. Among other things the Tannery contributes with open sandwiches topped with clarias, the very same fish that we grow in the house.
For twenty years Equmenia Church was looking for new premises. When the location for the new church eventually was decided, there was a huge willingness to contribute among the parishioners. Together they have put in thousands of hours of work. Hours that gave participation and insight and at the same time meant many saved millions for the project. Using local wood we benefitted the local economy and lowered carbon dioxide from transportation.
The basic idea was quite simple. There was already a large supply of plywood boards available. It became the starting point. With a little support from architect and owner all these volunteers have cut, screwed, painted and worked with the interior of the church. Walls, suspended ceilings, acoustic elements …
We often think that a simple solution is not enough. The result is beautiful – and functional.
The project Is the result of a broad collaboration between the municipality, the church congregation, the private landowner and the tenants. The municipality has been Involved In the development of the planning permissions but also in relation to the social project for persons with limitations on the ordinary employment market. The municipality Is also one of the co-owners of the facilities.
In the building process a team of technical consultants with a wide range of competence has been contracted; acoustics, construction, architects, electricity, ventilation, builder, carpenter etc. In the creation of a sustainable food destination there has also been a wide range of collaborations with both tenants and other experts, Including experts in fish farming, brewing, aquaponics, lifestock and green house farming.
Today the Tannery area is a safe, lively, and welcoming area in Floda. As a resident in Floda it has become a reason to stay locally rather than travel to Gothenburg. It is usedon a daily basis as a workplace, a place for worship and for leisure activities. The area has also attracted people from the wider region to visit and get to know Floda.
Via the restaurant and food store local farmers have been able to sell their crops locally, cutting middle hands and reducing transport.
Furthermore dozens of persons that have problems finding ordinary work have been given a possibility of work training.
The innovative challenge was docking a local congregation with a private business running a restaurant and an office for a hiking path. There are lots of exciting connections between all the operations and they are physical as well since the buildings are put together as one.
Instead of being a victim run over by urbanization, we create high quality ruralization based on environment, security and a wide range of good culture.
The atmosphere and the feel were far more important issues than what material we would use.
When you enter the Tannery, you smell the freshly baked bread from the bakery while catching a glimpse of the large church hall as you see the stream flow past outside the windows. You will feel warm and cozy. Lovely.
The idea of sustainability is a common thread in the project. The colors are non-toxic and all the tannery buildings have solar cells. At the time of installation, it was the largest photovoltaic plant in the municipality.
The old house was filled with stuff. Long ago someone apparently had ordered new windows but it turned out to be the wrong ones, so they were left there standing against a wall. Everything that was possible to take care of was kept to preserve the character of the building.
Recycling and upcycling and the use of wood benefits sustainability. It also makes a building beautiful.
Wood is a material with a warm feeling and it creates soft acoustics when you move around.
The church is entirely built with locally grown wood. The furniture is made of oak from the nearby area.
The process of transforming the Tannery area started five years ago and is still ongoing. Many stakeholders have taken part in the transformation process, some continuously, some with a shorter, project based, involvement. Here Kaminsky Arkitektur has contributed to the continuity following the project as architects from the start. This role has affected our methodology and approach to the project. Firstly, our scope has widen compared with a traditional architect’s role as we have not only designed buildings and produced drawings but also developed the overall concept of the area. Secondly, we have developed methods to involve volunteers in the building process on a large scale, in building the church for instance the congregation spent more than 6 000 volunteer hours. Here we designed the Interior walls and ceilings so that they could be assembled by laymen.
Our experiences of recycling are contributing to the national research project ccbuild, which is led by IVL Swedish Environmental Institute and funded by the Swedish government.
The indoor fish farm is not only sustainable, it is also an opportunity to fight starvation. Such a fish farm can be exported in containers and then built up as a closed system where people in poor countries can get food.
One of the biggest challenges society has today is linked to sustainability issues. We need to live our lives in a different way to spare the planet. Especially when it comes to how we consume food. In The Tannery cooking courses spread knowledge on sustainble food to the wider public.
Sustainability is, by definition, an approach to business that balances the environmental, social and economic aspects to meet the current needs without compromising or overburdening future generations.
This project is an inspiration for people in Floda and other communities. As a consequence of everything that goes on in the Tannery area we can now see a substantial effect on property prices – people simply want to live in Floda. Those who once moved to Floda because they did not have much choice economically, can now say that they live here and are proud of it, because in Floda we have something that others don’t. A food destination of the future.
Fishing is one of the most significant drivers of declines in ocean wildlife populations due to overfishing. Fish grown in so called aquafarms discharge waste, pesticides and other chemicals into ecologically fragile coastal waters.
80% of the fish and 70% of the vegetables we eat in Sweden are imported. Could fish farming on land in combination with vegetable farming be one of the future solutions to the food question? That is one of the key questions by the fish farm that houses at the Tannery. Here the fish live their lives without poisons and antibiotics.
The fish served in the restaurant at the Tannery is grown inside the house. It will not be more local than that. With the help of an entrepreneur of alternative food production we have created a 70 square meter facility where the fish are grown in tanks. Four pools are filled with 800 catfish of the species clarias.
The fish are fed with protein-rich vegetables and a small amount of maritime proteins. Their droppings make the pool water very nutritious. Ten ton of fish can provide nutrition for one hundred ton of vegetables per year.
The waste from the fishtanks from the fishfarm is then used as nutritions in the green house. To show the power of a fish farm combined with a greenhouse.
The compost bed creates heat for the greenhouse, which means that we can have a completely different range of vegetables in the restaurant due to off season cultivation.
