The Halmstad City Library, Halmstad, Sweden
Located in the southwest corner of Sweden, halfway between the large cities of Malmö and Gothenburg, Halmstad attracts tourists to its beaches. Halmstad calls itself the Town with Three Hearts, since the city’s coat of arms has three crowned hearts, suggesting welcoming friendliness. Since water and trees are an important part of appreciating nature, its City Library, completed in 2006, was inspired by these elements. In a park beside the Nissan River near the historic city center, the Danish architectural firm schmidt hammer lassen designed a glass and concrete building with a roof covered in grass. This roof helps to insulate the building from ultraviolet rays in an ecologically sound way, while also absorbing rainfall. One hundred and two columns inside the building remind visitors of the many trees surrounding it outside. Rather than cutting down trees which were on the building site, schmidt hammer lassen architects designed the library around the trees. A large chestnut tree remains in a round atrium at the building’s heart. The ventilation system designed by Swegon, Swedish ventilation and indoor climate specialists, uses 70 quiet low-velocity air terminal devices decorated with that are silent and create a healthy and energizing indoor climate without draft and noise. They are decorated in a pattern containing three hearts, a reference to Halmstad’s coat of arms. As the architectural firm’s website states:
With its atrium encircling a large existing chestnut tree becoming its fulcrum and the long concave facade with double-height glazing distended between the seemingly floating floor-plates, nature, the seasons and the city all become part of the library. Inside, the library is essentially a single open space, flexible and highly legible: an open structure which allows an active interplay between the columns and the trees outside. The double-height glazing of the concave façade creates a welcoming, transparent ambience. The atrium is the focal point that creates an instant overview and connects the library’s three floors vertically. Surrounding the atrium is the information plaza: a dynamic zone containing the reception area, computer terminals, exhibitions, a café, and stairs to the balcony and the stacks in the basement. Around this zone looking out in the direction of the façade and the views, the various sections unfurl, breathing their own tranquil atmosphere, affording users space to ponder or be drawn in. The library is extended across the wide expanse of the Nissan River like a bridge linking the historic part of town and the new urban development area, formerly divided by the river for hundreds of years.
Schmidt hammer lassen architects, with offices in Aarhus, Copenhagen, London, Shanghai, and Singapore, prides itself on a democratic approach to architecture, meaning that its buildings are designed primarily for people, and not merely as interesting shapes. Today the library contains about 260,000 items in over 50 languages on more than 500 shelves. The building’s entrance is meant to inspire a sense of energetic activity. People visit the library about 630,000 times annually and borrow 380,000 items.
Thailand and Sweden
As the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in 2012, Thailand and Sweden have a close bilateral relationship. About 400,000 tourists from Sweden visit Thailand each year. The website of the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok reminds us that Thailand and Sweden established diplomatic relations in 1883. The Swedish Embassy in Bangkok is one of the largest such embassies in Asia. There are also Swedish honorary consulates in Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, and Hua Hin. His Excellency the Swedish Ambassador to Thailand, Mr. Klas Molin, works to strengthen ties between the two countries in many ways. Last month he inaugurated the Swedish Film Festival 2015 in Bangkok.
On the business side, Thailand is Sweden’s largest trade partner in South East Asia, in telecommunication equipment, power generation and transmission equipment, vehicles and parts, packaging, steel and forestry products. Sweden’s investment in Thailand is over $2 billion USD and many Swedish companies are present in Thailand, including IKEA, Ericsson, and Volvo. Swedish companies with production facilities in Thailand include ABB, Mölnlycke Health Care, Electrolux, Eka Chemicals, Perstorp and Volvo. Sweden exports products to Thailand from companies such as Ericsson, Volvo, Electrolux, ABB and Tetra Pak. Thailand exports to Sweden machinery, electronics, vehicles, and food.
Cultural exchanges.
In terms of popular entertainment, most Thais know that Anne Thongprasom, the film and television actress born in 1976 in Bangkok, has a Thai mother and a Swedish father. Many are also fans of Jonas Anderson, born in 1972 in Fryksände, Värmland, Sweden. A singer of lookthung or Thai country/folk music, Jonas has released several albums. After moving to Thailand as a boy in 1981, his family settled in the Isan region to educate people in the countryside. Jonas moved his family to Bangkok as a teenager, and he sang in amateur venues until he was discovered by the television personality Khun Wittawat Suntornwinet, star of At 10 or Tee Sip. Studying with Aniwat Phanom – who performed under the name Vilai Phanom – Jonas released his first album, Pom Chue Jonas, in 2000 on the Wetee Thai label. Three more albums followed: Rong Oo Laeng Wao; Jonas Mahasanook; and Rak Lae Kit Tueng. Then Jonas was signed by Sony Music Thailand for the releases Nakrong Panejon and Ram Tone Ram Thai. Later his Noom Tam Lao Sao Tam Thai was presented on the Mangpong label. Most recently, he has produced and released his own music independently. He has also co-hosted the television program Thung Banterng.
In 2000, Jonas told Time Magazine:
Never did I imagine I would be doing something like this…I fell in love with Thailand. I fell in love with the way of life, the culture, the exotic food… And the people are so warm. I was exposed to luk thung while living in Thailand. I started singing it five years ago. I was at a community event in Khon Kaen and the organizer invited me to sing. I was pretty nervous. It’s a difficult style, but I decided to give it a shot. I was totally amazed by the overwhelmingly positive response I got. So I tried to learn more songs to add to my repertoire. I have a total of about 20 now, including the 10 on the album. I always wanted to learn more about music, but never did I imagine I would be doing something like this…Luk thung has been having a bit of a revival, especially since the economic downturn, when there has been more emphasis on things like eating Thai food and taking more pride in things Thai, such as Isan and Thai music. I’m hoping in some small way to contribute to this revival. Luk thung music is the most popular music in Thailand, but you might not get that impression in Bangkok. The fans cut across every sector of society and age group, from the littlest tots to old country ladies… It’s something like a cross between American country music and the blues. There’s a lot of heartbreak in the songs. On the musical side, it’s more difficult to describe. It’s rendered with a lot of emotion, expressed through vocal techniques, such as severe vibrato, inflecting your voice. There are some scats, but the scales are totally different. The Thai singers express themselves that way naturally, but I have to copy note by note. The music deals with the Thai way of life. It’s sad, but very relatable. Then there’s mor lam which is more difficult. It’s almost an Isan form of rap, where the lyrics are more spoken than sung. They’re sung over one chord and they don’t have any repetition…The Thai singers have been very supportive and welcoming. They’ve even offered advice. There is a real sense of brotherhood, a willingness to help each other. Being a foreigner definitely helps. I think what the Thai people appreciate is that a foreigner appreciates their culture and music and is making an effort to learn. It’s not competitive at all. The interaction has been really friendly, and that’s been quite encouraging for me.
Another famous example of Thai-Swedish cultural exchange is in Utanede, east of the northern town of Östersund, where a Thai pavilion was constructed on the site of an 1897 visit to Sweden by HM King Chulalongkorn (Rama V ). The Swedes were so impressed by Rama V’s visit on the occasion of the Stockholm Exhibition that they filmed him being embraced on his arrival in the Scandinavian country, a silent film still surviving today in a Swedish film archive.
(all images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)