Gasklockan, Gothenburg

Coordinates: 57°43′04″N 11°58′55″E / 57.71778°N 11.98194°E / 57.71778; 11.98194
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Gasklockan
Gasometer
LocationGullbergsvass
Town or cityGothenburg
CountrySweden
Coordinates57°43′04″N 11°58′55″E / 57.71778°N 11.98194°E / 57.71778; 11.98194
Opened7 November 1933
Closed1993
Demolished2017
OwnerGöteborg Energi
Height81 m (266 ft)
Dimensions
Diameter44.75 m (146.8 ft)
Other dimensions100,000 m3 (3,500,000 cu ft)

Gasklockan was a

gasometer in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was 81 meters tall and stored up to 100,000 cubic meters of gas while in use between 1933 and 1993. After it was taken out of use several possible uses were suggested, most notably painting it like a can of Coca-Cola for the 1995 World Championships in Athletics. None of those plans were realized with the owners, Göteborg Energi
applying for permission to demolish the building in 1999. The building was demolished in 2017 after many complications among them two endangered falcons nesting on top of the building and various processes being appealed.

Original usage

Gasklockan entered usage in 1933 at the Gullbergsvass gasworks, which was at the time the largest gasworks in Sweden.[1] It was in the shape of a 20 sided polygon with an internal diameter of 46 m (151 ft) and a height of 81 m (266 ft) with a gas capacity of 100,000 m3 (3,500,000 cu ft).[2]

Other uses

After Gasklockan stopped being used for storing gas in 1993 many other uses have been proposed. The most famous of these is The Coca-Cola Company's proposal to repaint it to look like a can of Coca-Cola for an ad campaign in connection to the 1995 World Championships in Athletics.[3] The proposal was later withdrawn after complaints from locals. There have also been many other suggestions, among them an exhibition hall, climbing center, museum, hotel and dance stage.[3][4]

While empty it was used for a few purposes including recording several music videos, including

sonic art installation by Åke Parmerud and Olle Niklasson,[5] and housing telecommunications equipment.[3]

Gasklockan deteriorated further over time making it more expensive to renovate or maintain with a maintenance cost of 100,000

Swedish kronor (US$10,000) each year in 2011 making demolition more attractive.[6][3]

Demolition

Plans to demolish Gasklockan were formalized in 1999 when Göteborg Energi applied for demolition permission with the

jackscrews and removing the bottom most section. Using this process the building lost 2m height a day. It was finished before the March 15 deadline, but the falcons were present on the building while demolition was underway. The birds had been provided nesting boxes placed on alternative nesting sites.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ "Historia". Göteborg Energi (in Swedish). Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  2. ^ a b Nilsson, Magnus (26 August 2016). "Gasklockan rivs nerifrån och upp". gp.se (in Swedish). Göteborgs Posten. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e Johansson, Anders (2 August 2011). "Gasklockan ska målas om som en Cola-burk". gp.se (in Swedish). Göteborgs Posten. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  4. ^ Ferhatovic, Marina (26 October 2012). "Reklam för Cola eller klättervägg". gp.se (in Swedish). Göteborgs Posten. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  5. ^ Rasmuson, Hanna (22 August 2016). "Ljudet av Gasklockan finns kvar". gp.se (in Swedish). Göteborgs Posten. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  6. ^ Grahn-Hinnfors, Gunilla (18 May 2009). "Nytt förslag om gasklockan". gp.se (in Swedish). Göteborgs Posten. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  7. ^ Fransson, Dag (10 December 2014). "Gasklockan ska rivas". gp.se (in Swedish). Göteborgs Posten. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  8. ^ Bergman, Helena (30 April 2013). "Beslutet fattat: Gasklockan ska rivas". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  9. ^ Grill, Martin (10 December 2014). "Klockan klämtar för Gasklockan". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  10. ^ Henke, Jesper (22 October 2015). "Snart rivs gasklockan". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  11. ^ Jungmar, Susanne (11 November 2015). "Rivningen av gasklockan försenas igen". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  12. ^ Jungmar, Susanne (13 March 2016). "Pilgrimsfalkar försenar rivningen av gasklockan". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  13. ^ Jungmar, Susanne (14 January 2017). "Bråttom för gasklockan – snart kommer falken". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  14. ^ Moberg, Carl (14 February 2017). "Falkarna vägrar överge gasklockan". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  15. ^ Hankins, Markus (7 March 2017). "TV: Här rivs gasklockan i Göteborg – på två minuter". gp.se (in Swedish). Göteborgs Posten. Retrieved 13 January 2020.