Skanska’s Academic Undertaking

University of Gothenburg. Image courtesy of Skanska

Skanska will be constructing a new building for the Faculty of Science at the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden. The developers have signed the contract, worth 1.2 billion Swedish Kronas or $130 million, with the landlord Akademiska Hus, allowing Skanska to start construction immediately. The project is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2023.

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The project includes two seven-story sections of the building and a connection point that will be made up of an atrium and meeting rooms. The 32,000-square-meter (344,446-square-foot) project will introduce advanced lab environments, classrooms and offices in a flexible building design that allows the university to suit its current or future needs. The construction also calls for the renovation of a connecting 2,000-square-meter (21,528-square-foot) building.

University of Gothenburg. Image courtesy of Skanska

According to Skanska, the project will be an important piece of the campus’ Medicineareberger development and will also let the science faculty accommodate 3,000 students and 500 to 600 employees in one space.

Göran Hilmersson, dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Gothenburg, told Commercial Property Executive this new science building will help the university attract future undergraduate and graduate students.

“We will gain greater visibility and better opportunities for collaboration, sharing premises and advanced equipment,” Hilmersson told CPE. “Proximity between education and research in both natural science and medicine is a success factor that improves our prospects to jointly address the challenges of the future faced by both humans and the environment.”

Diverse developers

Skanska has been very active in the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway and Finland, developing mostly residential and commercial properties. But the company is no stranger to university projects, having signed a $32 million contract with the University of Cincinnati to renovate and expand a former hall in its College of Business in September.

The Sweden-based Skanska has additional projects in its home country. The developers sold off a 129,166-square-foot office building that was under construction to Senate Properties for $62 million in June 2018.