Akademiska Hus invests in meeting place for innovation in life science on Solna Campus
Monday, 14 May 2018
Akademiska Hus is investing almost SEK 100 million in a renovation project to create a meeting place for innovation in life science on the Solna Campus.
The building will provide the campus with a long-awaited central gathering point where students, researchers, visitors, businesspeople and startup companies can converge for knowledge-sharing, development and innovation.
When several of the departments at Karolinska Institutet move in to the newly built Biomedicum research laboratory in 2018, buildings will be vacated, including the current Pharmacology Building on the Solna Campus. It is now being renovated with the goal of continuing to support the campus vision of contributing to world-leading research and education.
The building is centrally located on the campus adjacent to the large “Akademiska Stråket” walkway. The building is part of an historically valuable environment, characterized by detached buildings in a park environment with precise brick architecture from the last century. The building will include a coffice area, offices and lab stations.
“There is currently demand for smaller offices and laboratory facilities, both from companies already established in the area and others who want to come here because of its proximity to KI and other life science companies. The Solna Campus plays a key role in the continued development of world-leading research and education and we would like to contribute to its advancement now by investing in a meeting place for innovation,” says Magnus Huss, Market Area Director, Akademiska Hus.
The total renovation project involves about 5,800 m2. Construction start is planned for the autumn of 2018 with completion in late 2019.
About the Solna Campus
The Solna Campus is a key component of the regional life science cluster and the growing Hagastaden neighbourhood, which will link Stockholm and Solna and create a living neighbourhood and research environment. When Hagastaden is completed there will be more than 6,000 new homes and about 50,000 workplaces. Solnavägen, which links the campus on one side with the university hospital on the other, is being transformed into a city street, since the road will no longer be used as a major thoroughfare for hazardous goods. This allows for new mixed urban development along the street close to the Solna Campus. Public transportation in the area is also being expanded. Citybanan (the City Line), with the station at Odenplan, opened in 2017. A new underground line from Odenplan to Arenastaden with a station in Hagastaden and one of the exits at KI, has been approved and will preliminarily be completed in 2024.