KARIN MATZ ARKITEKT

Category: Research

  • Tibro Station Lab

    Tibro Station Lab

    Part of the Building lab series with KTH master studios exploring full scale construction. Students not mentioned by name due to Swedish regulations. Spring 2025

    Tibro Station Lab is a series of small architectural interventions aiming to transform an abandoned station warehouse in central Tibro into a potential new public building. The interventions are designed and built by students from the KTH School of Architecture, Master studio Fabulous Future Factory, founde and directed by Karin Matz and Anders Berensson in collaboration with the KTH Master studio DKV.

    The world urgently needs to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to avoid a global warming catastrophe. Today, one third of all emissions stem from the building industry. Using what already exists is essential to prevent the unnecessary consumption of resources and to lower emissions from construction. Another key factor—both for reducing emissions and strengthening social sustainability—is to produce architecture locally. Throughout the spring, we will practice both.

    The studio engages with the existing site and building, maintaining, reusing, and adapting materials while developing its method directly on site. The ambition is to establish a hands-on, locally rooted approach shaped by practical experience and the specific conditions of Tibro’s historic center. The project is carried out in collaboration with Tibro Municipality, focusing on the old station warehouse and its surroundings.

    The studio works with adaptive reuse and inventive upcycling of buildings, components, and materials that have been, or will be, dismantled in Stockholm. These elements are transformed at DKV67 into new architectural parts and then integrated into the station warehouse or its surroundings in Tibro. The work serves as both prototypes and permanent structures for future interventions and the continued architectural development of the station warehouse.

  • RERUG

    RERUG

    Fabulous Future Factory founded by Karin Matz & Anders Berensson in collaboration with Fabege, Spring 2026.

    Part of the Building lab series with KTH master studios exploring full scale construction. Students not mentioned by name due to Swedish regulations.

    Tenant adaptations are some of the most common construction projects in the industry and make up a big part of the work we architects do. Even though these projects often involve fairly simple structures and rarely need to consider weather conditions, there’s very little reuse happening in this part of the field. People tend to stick to
    the way things have always been done. Reusing materials can be
    tricky—it raises questions about room specifications, warranties, and
    responsibilities. It’s usually easier to work with new products, even
    though reused materials can be just as good, and often cheaper.
    Another key point is the expectation of freshness. Few people want to move
    into a space that feels old or tired. The feeling of newness, freshness, and
    smooth functionality shouldn’t be underestimated—especially in offices or
    commercial spaces that might not have strong architectural features to offer.

    These days, many offices look very similar, with the same ceiling heights, moldings, and acoustic ceiling panels. In many cases, the only thing that can make a space stand out is that feeling of freshness. That means reused materials need to be handled in a way that keeps the space looking vibrant and appealing.

    Branding is another important factor. Companies naturally want to show
    off their brand, often against a simple backdrop so that their products
    stand out. But the changes one tenant makes to highlight their brand rarely fit the next tenant’s preferences. A perfect example is Telia’s former offices at the Mall of Scandinavia. Telia, the former Swedish telecom provider, had a very distinct color profile—orange, green, and purple carpets—that clearly said “Telia” about 15 years ago. Now, Telia has moved out, leaving thousands of square meters of branded carpets behind.

    The challenge was: can these carpets get a new life? Can they be given a
    second chance by mixing them into new patterns? Can we turn them into
    something fresh, exciting, and functional instead of throwing them away?