When renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano was commissioned to design Vandalorum, an international art and design centre in southern Sweden, he took to the sky by helicopter for a bird’s eye view of the region.

“The landscape is peppered with red storage barns, which inspired Vandalorum’s wood facades”, explains Göran Almqvist, sales manager at Flex Fasadia ab, which supplied the centre’s building systems.

“But light was obviously another important element. There had to be lots of it, but also of the correct type so as not to damage the artwork. We couldn’t risk failure with this part of the project so we called on Sapa Building System ab. We’ve had good experience with their products and they understand building systems.”

“We also wanted maintenance-free door and window supports. Aluminium requires virtually no upkeep, and its modernistic look was in keeping with the design aesthetic.”

Vandalorum opened in April 2011.