Landmark railway station to feature cardboard luminaires

Fagerhult has supplied bespoke lighting for Gothenburg’s new Grand Central transport hub, where luminaires made from recycled cardboard will feature alongside custom-designed fittings in a major architectural project targeting Breeam outstanding certification.
The 15,000-square-metre building in the Swedish city centre combines a railway station, restaurants and modern office accommodation.
Owned by Swedish railway property company Jernhusen and designed by Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter, it will also serve as the main entrance to Station Centralen, part of the West Link underground railway project.
Fagerhult developed the lighting scheme in collaboration with the architect and electrical contractor Electrocentralen. The installation includes custom-designed wall-mounted and suspended luminaires manufactured at Fagerhult’s facilities near Habo, Sweden. These fittings will help define the vaulted ceiling of the main station hall.
The lighting concept makes extensive use of indirect illumination to emphasise the building’s architectural lines and sense of space. Light will also appear to emerge from below, with illumination from the underground station filtering upwards through the floor.
In the upper office floors, the scheme incorporates Fagerhult’s Wrapped luminaire family, which uses a body made from recycled cardboard. The fittings provide ambient illumination, complemented by the company’s Notor 36 linear luminaires and Globia pendants for accent lighting.
Wrapped was developed as an alternative to conventional metal-bodied luminaires. Its body is made from Solid Board, a hard, post-consumer recycled cardboard material containing up to 65 per cent recycled content. Fagerhult says the material has 89 per cent less climate impact per kilogram than virgin aluminium, while the product’s plastic and metal components also incorporate recycled materials.
The manufacturer has designed the luminaire for a long service life, with a constant light output rating of 100,000 hours and luminous efficacy of up to 177 lm/W. An Environmental Product Declaration is available, providing data to help specifiers assess its environmental performance.
Grand Central has been developed with an emphasis on energy efficiency and climate-conscious material selection. The building includes approximately 8,000 square metres of office space, accommodating around 700 workplaces.
Fagerhult technical sales representative Henrik Karlsson said the project had brought together architectural ambition and practical lighting requirements, including maintaining low energy consumption within specified power limits.
The station is scheduled to open to travellers in December 2026, with occupation of the office accommodation planned for the first half of 2027.
The project illustrates how alternative materials can be incorporated into large commercial developments without restricting the use of established architectural lighting techniques. It also provides a real-world application for cardboard-bodied luminaires in a building where durability, maintenance and environmental performance are important considerations.
• Diary date: Circular Lighting Live 2027 takes place on Thursday 7 October 2027 in the City of London. It’s Recolight’s flagship event, comprising a two-track conference, exhibition and awards celebrating innovations in sustainable lighting.