Solar Egg - a unique art project visits Skellefteå

Riksbyggens sauna Solar Egg, created by the internationally renowned artist duo Bigert & Bergström, is visiting Skellefteå during the period February to April. Bigert & Bergström have shed light on the planet's climate changes through their art for over 30 years. The world-famous sauna was designed in 2017 as a symbol of new beginnings in connection with the urban transformation of Kiruna. In the growth city of Skellefteå, Riksbyggen is planning over 200 new apartments in the next few years, so they saw an opportunity to discuss the innovative development here by lending the sauna to Skellefteå Kunsthall.

 

Solar Egg will become a vibrant meeting place with a warm heart at Sara Kulturhus in the spring of 2023.

 

PLACE: Sara Kulturhus North Terrace in Skellefteå
WHEN: February 11 - May 5 2023

Facts about Solar Egg

• Solar Egg is 4.5 metres high and 12.6 metres in circumference.

• The piece weighs 2750 kg. 

• The fireplace is shaped like a human heart and weighs 750 kg.

• The lighting uses electricity from its own solar array. 

• The assembly of the 69 golden plates using 1512 screws takes 4 to 5 days.

 

The recipient of Bigert & Bergström's Solar Egg is Skellefteå Konsthall in collaboration with Sara Kulturhus and The Wood Hotel by Elite.

"What an experience the sauna bathers will have! With Solar Egg's visit to Skellefteå, we want to highlight the modern and innovative development that Skellefteå is undergoing. The fact that we get to adorn Sara Kulturhus with Sweden's largest and most well-known gold nugget warms the cockles."

 


Mathias Sandberg, Concept Manager Business Area Housing at Riksbyggen.

Award-winning design

Solar Egg for Riksbyggen has received a number of awards, including the prestigious Red Dot Award for design, the 2017 Steel Building Award and won the German Design Award and the Swedish Arts & Business Awards. Solar Egg has also won awards in the Swedish Design Prize and the London International Awards. In 2018, popular culture magazine Time Out named Solar Egg as the third most spectacular tourist destination in the world. More than 1.3 billion people have been able to read about the sauna or see the photographs by Jean-Baptiste Béranger on social and digital media. A book about Solar Egg was published in 2019 by Art&Theory.

"The aim of Solar Egg is to highlight social transformation and sustainability through conversation. The fact that we now get to do this in Skellefteå, one of Sweden's most expansive and modern places, will be very interesting and exciting"

 


Johanna Frelin, CEO of Riksbyggen.