WasteLand
Climate Action Park
Skellefteå, 2026—
Welcome to WasteLand – an art and knowledge park by the Skellefte River, where a formerly contaminated industrial area is being transformed into a place of hope for the future. At the Scharin site, which for a long time was one of Västerbotten’s most polluted locations, is now Europe’s first climate action park. After 17 years of remediation, nature has begun to reclaim the land, and here art, knowledge, play, movement, and recreation come together in an entirely new environment. Under the motto ‘From Waste to Promise’, the former wasteland is becoming a lush space for conversations about the future.
WasteLand will be inaugurated on 28 May 2026, in connection with Society Expo 2026, with the ambition to expand further in 2027-2028. The park will then open as a new meeting place for anyone who wants to experience art, climate issues, and landscape in a new way – right in the middle of a place that is literally in the process of changing.
At the heart of the park, as a permanent piece, stands Lithium Crystal Sauna by Bigert & Bergström, a striking sculptural sauna symbolising climate transformation and future energy. The duo also presents Rundgång, and their Broken Greenhouse will be displayed as well during the summer of 2026 – immersive works exploring time, movement, and global climate scenarios.
Ingela Ihrman’s First Came the Landscape connects visitors to natural cycles through a monumental sculpture of reclaimed trees, while Irene Rasmussen’s installation demonstrates how plants can actively clean contaminated soil. Blending design and ecology, Jessica Rohdin and Åsa Wikberg-Nilsson’s Så ett frö uses sunflower seeds as both symbol and method for environmental healing. Visitors can also experience the Lookout tower. Lilla Sara, by students from the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, and The Lekotop, an inclusive play and recreation space developed with Luleå University of Technology.
The park is more than an art and urban development project – it is a vision of a sustainable place for several generations. By integrating climate-smart solutions, pedagogy, and innovative technology in both design and operation, the park is created to live over time and inspire both local and global transition. A new social space is emerging here, accessible to all and anchored in concrete measures for climate, inclusion, and knowledge dissemination.
BIGERT & BERGSTRÖM’S WORKS AT THE PARK
Lithium Crystal Sauna
It is a fully functional public sauna sculpture shaped like a giant asymmetrical lithium crystal. Clad in titanium-plated pink mirror steel, the work reflects the surrounding river and forest, while also creating a striking new visual landmark. Inside the sculptural form is a warm, crafted interior—a “wood grotto” designed as a contrasting sensory experience. The work becomes both a destination in itself and a symbol of a larger narrative: how a site shaped by pollution, extraction, and industry can be transformed into a place for public imagination, climate reflection, and future-making.
Broken Greenhouse
A large-scale art installation in the form of sculptural greenhouses. The project embodies five possible climate futures inspired by the UN’s climate scenarios for the year 2100, the so-called Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSP). The installation is realised in collaboration with the organisation Guided by Nature, the artist duo Bigert & Bergström, and an interdisciplinary group of researchers, first shown in Lund, 2025.
