Public Sculpture

Colors, Numbers and Molecules

public commission for the Academic hospitals, Uppsala, SE
in collaboration with Mari Rantanen
2023

B11/B9/B12 staircase, corridors, galleries
client: region Uppsala
Project manager: Martin Ålund, Andreas Bjersby

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The artistic design covered the color scheme of various spaces at Uppsala University Hospital, including a 10-story stairwell and various foyers on different levels. The overarching color scheme interlocks large wall surfaces with the various sculptural objects, creating a coherent whole that also facilitates orientation in the hospital. The colors of the wall design are reflected in the sculptures, which in turn influence the pattern of the walls. The recurring element of the sculptures is the sphere, which can be found in the 3-dimensional figures as well as in the model-like molecules.

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Staircase

Sculptural numerals to designate the individual floors and small, hanging „molecules“ on all 10 levels in interaction with the overarching color scheme of the entire stairwell: color gradient in different shades of pink across the entire stairwell as well as color scheme of the banister.

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Elevator lobbies, foyer, atrium

Walls of printed laminate on 5 floors. Three large hanging sculptures of painted bronze that communicate in color with the wall design. A monumental sculpture of fiberglass in the adjacent atrium.

The hanging molecules consist of a fragment of spruce trunk cast in bronze and painted metal spheres.

Ten smaller molecules are placed on all floors of the staircase, three larger ones in the air space near the elevator halls and one monumental molecule made of fiberglass in the connecting courtyard. All sculptures are colored in connection with the overall color concept.

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Basement

A corridor in the basement was transformed into a coherent gigantic mural and complemented by a sculpture (My contructive Everyday / House of Pain and Color) made of cut-out and assembled packages of various medicines.