Located at the site of the former central ferry landing Angfarjan in Helsingborg, Sweden, the Schmidt Hammer Lassen designed Salt Crystals Hotel and Congress Centre is imagined as a cultural center and bridge between the nearby Helsingborg historical architecture and a new architectural future.

The Salt Crystals is modernist in both structural form and design philosophy. SHL molded form for function, modeling the outward form for each component of the Crystals for reception, a lobby, a hotel, a conference centre, a café, a restaurant and a catering centre. The chalky looking crystalline exterior appearance is an expression of the local block structure and building grid.

The Crystals will be connected to a mixed residential plot on the north side of the building which will house shops and retail on the ground floor. SHL wanted each residential unit to have unobstructed views of the waterfront, so the unit is orientated so the tallest units are withdrawn towards the street and the lower units are closest to the waterfront. This way all units have a waterfront view and receive sunlight from the south.

SHL won the design competition in 2009 and construction is slated to begin in 2012 with an expected finish date in 2014. A 107 euro budget has been exacted for the construction. Masu Planning Landscape collaborated with SHL on the landscape design.

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