A Cultural Development Strategy for Kronoberg County (Sweden)

The Kronoberg strategy is the only plan of its kind in Sweden which links economic development, place making and cultural resources. The starting point of the project was a six-month mapping exercise aimed at repositioning the local economy and the image of the locality after a catastrophic storm. The proposal for the Storm Centre is the result of such cultural mapping. Following a devastating storm in 2005, the Kronoberg people needed fresh ideas about how to attract tourists and visitors, and, more broadly, how to create economic development opportunities while improving the local quality of life. The Storm Centre was designed to be part visitors’ attraction and part research centre, and by turning a problem into an opportunity Lia Ghilardi showed how the centre could act as a catalyst for other initiatives developed by local partners (e.g. the university, new media and high-tech companies) based on the theme of extreme weather and issues of eco sustainability and quality of life. The drawing is by Malmö based architects Testbed.