The city of Lund in southern Sweden is characterised by a rich cultural and historical heritage and is home to one of the oldest and most respected educational institutions in Scandinavia. But the city is equally well-known for its state-of-the-art scientific research and development, and its bustling business community including the headquarters of Tetra Pak, manufacturer of packaging cartons worldwide. 

This juxtaposition also plays out in the contrast between Lund’s cobblestoned medieval old town and the recently built Park Inn by Radisson hotel, which offers highly contemporary accommodation within easy access to the city centre, nearby Malmo and even, thanks to the Oresund crossing, Copenhagen. 

Designed by Anders Blomqvist, partner with Malmo-based architect Horisont Arkitekter, the rectilinear 10-storey hotel is clad in horizontally arranged aluminium composite panels, screwed onto an aluminium frame. 

Blomqvist specified the use of aluminium cladding to create a light impression: “We worked with two different grey shades in two different gloss levels to make a subtle effect that shifts depending on the weather – fading from dark to light towards the sky,” he explains. 

The horizontal striping, he adds, refers both to the open landscape of the predominantly agricultural Skåne region and the movement of the traffic on the nearby E22 highway. 

In stark contrast, the hotel’s entrance is a dramatic two-storey protruding cube, clad in bright red panels over its top half and glazed at ground level. This, says Blomqvist, provides a playful twist on the red carpet entrance to both the hotel and the adjacent Lund World Trade Center building. 

In total the building utilises 2,600 square metres of Reynobond aluminium composite  panels, manufactured by Arconic Architechtural Products, distributed through Vink Sweden and installed by Plåtexpressen. 

Reynobond composite panels consist of two pre-painted aluminium sheets fusion bonded to both sides of a polyethylene core. It is suitable for both internal and external use, but the evenness and stiffness of the panels makes it particularly suited to large area applications such as this hotel. 

The two greys used are Grey Metallic and Smoke Silver Metallic in both MattXtrem and high gloss, the panels on the front cube are high gloss Ruby Red. 

NCC was the main contractor with engineering design provided by consultant Creacon. Horisont Arkitekter was responsible for architectural and interior design. 

@ Martin Palvén