In 2018, the roof of the old dancing pavilion in Dala-Floda collapsed due to a heavy snowfall. Situated in the folk park Strandbacken, the pavilion was an important node in the local community. It was of course used for dances, but also other kinds of events such as parties, concerts and movie nights. But as of 2018, the more than 60 year old pavilion has been passed on to history. Plans for a new pavilion are on their way and in this thesis project I have used this park to investigate places for gatherings in rural Sweden. Folk Parks (approximately ‘community parks’) are open air centres for leisure and gatherings still functioning within many rural communities around the country. The folk park will work as a point of departure for this thesis project. Questions through this project have been how the parks like this one worked in the past, how the situation is now and what can the parks become in the future. The findings of the research phase have synthesized to become an architectural proposal that takes the historical and cultural values of the site into account and still works as a modern space for meetings and events.
