ArkDes – museum of architecture and design in Stockholm

Writer: Helena Bergström

Updated: October 2026 | ArkDes on Skeppsholmen is a museum for those of you who are curious about architecture, design and how our cities and environments are shaped. We ourselves had a pretty poor understanding of the museum before our first visit, but were pleasantly surprised – not least by all the models, drawings and stories about buildings we recognized from our travels in Sweden.

ArkDes on Skeppsholmen

ArkDes is located on Skeppsholmen in central Stockholm, right next to Modern Museum. The museum works with architecture and design, but its activities are broader than the exhibitions that meet ordinary visitors. It also has a large collection, a library, research, lectures and various activities.

The collection includes around four million objects and contains, among other things, drawings, models, photographs, sketches and other documents that tell the story of Swedish architecture and design.

ArkDes has changed a lot since our first visit. The museum closed for extensive renovation in 2023 and reopened in September 2024 with, among other things, a new entrance and redesigned exhibition spaces. Since 2026, ArkDes has been part of the Moderna Museet authority.

What can you see at ArkDes?

The exhibitions at ArkDes change over time and can cover everything from historical Swedish architecture to contemporary design and questions about how the cities and societies of the future should be designed.

An important part is the museum's large collection of architecture and design. Here you will find material from many of the architects and buildings that have shaped Sweden, and the objects can range from small sketches and photographs to large architectural models.

For those of us who travel a lot, it's extra fun when you suddenly recognize a building you've visited - or discover one that you immediately want to put on your list of future travel destinations.

Swedish architecture through the ages

When we visited ArkDes, there was a large exhibition on Swedish architecture. That particular exhibition is no longer there, but much of what we liked about it says something about why the museum is interesting.

We were able to walk around among models and pictures of both older and more modern Swedish buildings and recognized several places we had visited ourselves. For example, there were models of the Knights' House and Stockholm City Library, as well as Gripsholm Castle in Mariefred.

We were also drawn to buildings we had not yet seen. One such example was Kiruna Church, while other examples showed much more modern and experimental architecture.

It is perhaps the models that we remember best from the visit. A building that you have passed many times can become significantly more interesting when you suddenly see it in miniature and wonder why it actually looks the way it does.

Architecture is about more than beautiful houses

ArkDes is not just about famous buildings and architects. The exhibitions also address design and questions about how we design our homes, cities and public environments.

During our visit, for example, we saw an exhibition about Stockholm Design Lab and realized how much design we encounter in everyday life without thinking about it – on signs, packaging, apps and other graphic expressions.

It was a good reminder that design is not just about pretty furniture. It influences how we navigate, how we use things, and how the environments around us function.

Sigurd Lewerentz and the Forest Cemetery

Another temporary exhibition we saw during our visit was about the architect Sigurd Lewerentz. He is known, among other things, for his work on the Forest Cemetery in Stockholm, which he created together with Gunnar Asplund and which is today included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The exhibition we saw is no longer there, but Lewerentz and other important Swedish architects are represented in ArkDes' extensive collections. For us, the visit was yet another reason to take a closer look at the architecture around us when we travel.

ArkDes has changed since our visit

If you visit ArkDes today, the museum will not look exactly like our pictures. The renovation created a new main entrance from Exercisplan and new exhibition environments. The architectural firm Arrhov Frick was responsible for the redesign and reused materials from previous exhibitions, among other things.

Today, ArkDes works with a changing exhibition program where parts of the large collection are displayed together with temporary exhibitions on architecture and design. This also makes the museum a place that can be worth returning to. The next visit may offer something completely different from the last.

Our experience of ArkDes

As I said, we had a pretty poor understanding of ArkDes before we went here for the first time, but were pleasantly surprised. Above all, we enjoyed discovering buildings and environments that we recognized. Since we travel a lot, architecture often becomes a part of our experiences, even if we may not always think of it as ”architecture.”.

Suddenly we were standing in front of models of buildings we had seen in real life – while other models made us want to travel and discover even more.

That's probably also how we ourselves prefer to approach a museum like ArkDes: not by trying to learn everything about Swedish architecture at once, but by getting stuck on a few buildings, ideas or details and becoming curious about more.

Café Blom at ArkDes

During our visit, we ended with lunch at Café Blom. We had southern French shrimp stew and a beer each – a very pleasant end to the museum visit. Café Blom is still there and is located next to ArkDes. Of course, the menu and opening hours are subject to change, so check the latest information if you are specifically planning to eat here.

More to see at Skeppsholmen

ArkDes is easy to combine with other attractions on Skeppsholmen. The Moderna Museet is right next door, and a little further away is East Asian Museum.

But don't miss out yourself Skeppsholmen. We like to walk here among old buildings and boats and at the same time get nice views over Stockholm. On the other side of Skeppsholmsbron is the National Museum, and from there it is close to Kungsträdgården and Old Town.

READ MORE: Museums in Stockholm - guide to the city's best museums