Ljungberg Hall

2008 World Monuments Watch 

The Ljungberg Hall was originally designed as an exhibition hall for the 1897 Stockholm Exposition of Art and Industry. Architect Ferdinand Boberg and engineer Fritz Söderberg designed it as a venue for the display of Swedish contributions and innovations in technology and machinery. The structure has a visible steel exoskeleton with glass and skylights arranged throughout the building in a grid pattern. In this way, the engineering of the building was made clearly visible to visitors, complementing the building's function as a showroom for technological innovations. The building was open for five months at the exhibition before being dismantled and moved to Borlänge for use by the Kvarnsveden paper industry. Although the building's exterior appearance changed dramatically with the move, its interior retained much of its original design. The structure is no longer suitable for use by the paper industry. Neglect and 50 years of industrial use have left the building in a state of disrepair, and it is slated for demolition so that the land on which it stands can be used for other purposes. The proposed relocation of this building would be costly, but is thus far the only option that would prevent the destruction of this rare example of 19th-century exhibition architecture.