Anna Engvall

Tors Lokal is a community building located on Alnö outside Sundsvall and was built in 1896 by workers from the Hörningsholm sawmill. During the labour movement’s fight for better wages and working conditions, the building was frequently used as a meeting spot and it acted as an important meeting place for the neighbourhood. Between 1937 and 1975 the building lay dormant, tucked in with cover boards. A restoration took place in the seventies, and once again Tor became a place for parties, theatres and gatherings.

Since then, Tors Lokal has once again become dormant, while being cared for by the housing organisation.

In Displaying Tor, I want to accentuate the house’s rich detailing through documentation, extractions, translations and scale shifts. My degree project is a starting point for a discussion on this community buillding and its activation, which like others, has been affected by withdrawn grants and a lack of interest. I want people to talk about Tor again.

Displaying Tor touches upon questions of the life and death of buildings, shifts in generations, seed architecture and working with what already exists.

Maybe the house will wake up soon.