Summer at ArkDes 2025

Welcome to ArkDes on Skeppsholmen in Stockholm, with free admission and cost-free activities for the whole family.

Explore the museum’s exhibitions on architecture and design, help build a TrollTivoli, peek behind the scenes of one of the world’s largest architecture collections, or relax in the garden at Café Bloms. There’s something for the whole family, every day this summer.

TrollTivoli at Utsikten

A TrollTivoli has taken over Utsikten, ArkDes’ outdoor space for full-scale play, building and exploration. Flying swings sway, carousels spin and raffles clatter – all built from wood, bicycle wheels, scrap, and imagination. But the tivoli is far from finished. This summer, children and their adults are invited to help expand the trolls’ magical world.

Building activities at Utsikten take place Tuesday to Sunday, from 13:00 to 15:00, between 15 June and 24 August 2025. The activity is free of charge and best suited for children aged 4 and up. Come build, play, and create – or explore the site on your own any time during the day.

Celebrate the opening of Utsikten with us on 14 June

On 14 June from 13:00 to 15:00, Utsikten opens for the season. We’ll celebrate with cotton candy, hand-cranked barrel organ music, and tivoli-themed play. Feel free to wear something festive. All children and their adults are welcome.

Guided tours, summer edition

Join a guided tour this summer. From 1 July to 24 August, ArkDes offers free daily 30-minute tours of the exhibitions ArkDes Collection and Designing Motherhood: Things That Make and Break Our Births. Tours are offered in both Swedish and English.

Schedule:

• 12:00–12:30 ArkDes Collection (Swedish)
• 13:00–13:30 Designing Motherhood (English)
• 14:00–14:30 Designing Motherhood (Swedish)
• 15:00–15:30 ArkDes Collection (English)

ArkDes Collection

This tour highlights buildings, ideas, and places that have shaped modern Sweden. From early sketches to completed environments, the exhibition opens the door to the creative processes of architecture. Discover works by architects such as Gunnar Asplund, Léonie Geisendorf, and Sigurd Lewerentz.

Designing Motherhood: Things That Make and Break Our Births

When was the menstrual cup invented? And what might the birthing chair of the future look like? Designing Motherhood is an exhibition about how design has influenced human reproduction over the past 150 years – enabling, facilitating, or preventing our arrival in the world. The tour provides an introduction to more than 300 objects, from the first breast pump designed for the female body to maternity field trousers.

Unboxing: a behind-the-scenes look at the museum’s collection

With the new concept of Unboxing, ArkDes visitors get the chance to peek behind the scenes of one of the world’s largest architecture collections. Every weekday this summer, curators unpack drawings, sketches, and photographs directly from the museum’s storage.

New material is revealed every day, and together we explore the stories hidden in the museum’s holdings.

Unboxing takes place in the ArkDes Collection exhibition. The activity is free of charge and requires no advance booking.

Café Bloms

During the summer, the café is a true oasis in the city. Warm meals, Swedish fika, and refreshing drinks are served in a beautiful garden setting.

The ArkDes Library

The ArkDes Library is closed for the summer from 19 June to 26 August 2025.

Welcome to ArkDes this summer!