Swede Nils Olsson won the bronze medal for his work Model for “Baths and Sporting Hall for Gothenburg” at the 1948 London Olympics in the Art Competitions, in the Architecture category, Architectural Designs. This was built in 1956 under the name Valhallabadet, and it became one of his most prominent buildings. He studied at the Technical Elementary School in Malmö and then at Polytechnikum at Strelitz, in Northern Germany, from 1908-13. As an architect, he worked in Göteberg, first as an employee, and then in his own office. He designed several villas in Örgryt, and in the 1930s and 40s, he designed seven residential and commercial buildings along the Kungsportsavenyen. Olsson was also an avid caricaturist and published a number of albums with caricatures of athletes between 1911 and 1916.
Olsson won the tender for the Valhallabadet in 1948. After his death in 1951, Gustaf Emanuel Samuelsson (1911-1991) continued the project. Construction began, however, only in 1953. Initially, the bath offered room for 1,235 seats, standing room for 420, and facilities for 600 bathers. The basin had a length of 43.5 m and a maximum width of 39 m. Thanks to a hydraulically retractable bridge, the basin could be shortened to a 25 m pool. The stepped diving tower had platforms up to 10 m in height. The total area of the building was just over one hectare and the volume about 67,000 m³. The gable walls of the hall were covered by graphic glass mosaics by artist Nils Wedel (1897-1967) of about 700 m².
Sweden