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Akademiska Hus invests billions in central Gothenburg
Monday, 20 June 2022
Akademiska Hus is investing approximately SEK 1.9 billion in a new building that will enable the University of Gothenburg to locate the entire Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts between Götaplatsen and Korsvägen. The initiative will be a key component in the development of the Näckrosen campus and a meeting place for the humanities, art and culture will be created there.
“The University of Gothenburg has the largest school of fine, applied, and performing arts in Scandinavia, offering a unique scope of education programmes and research, even from an international perspective. Centrally locating the entire Faculty in the middle of the city in a building specifically designed for this purpose will provide fantastic opportunities for the university, for Gothenburg and for cultural life,” says Eva Wiberg, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Gothenburg.
The Faculty’s two departments, the Academy of Art and Design (HDK-Valand) and the Academy of Music and Drama, will both move into the new building. The building will be a home for students, researchers and teachers in all subjects within the arts, which will create greater opportunities for students and researchers from different disciplines to interact and new interdisciplinary collaborations within the arts can emerge.
“Together with the University of Gothenburg, we will create an efficient purpose-built facility where all subjects within the Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts can be gathered in premises that foster outstanding education and research. The Näckrosen campus will be strengthened as a vibrant site in the middle of the city where people can meet, experience art and exchange knowledge,” says Anna Alsborger, facilities manager at Akademiska Hus.
Specific and flexible facilities
The initiative includes the remodelling of part of the existing Artisten building, as well as the addition of two new six-storey buildings. The environments will include workshops, multipurpose halls, dance studios, concert halls, theatres, galleries, ateliers, music rooms, studios, offices, a café and a restaurant.
“We have long been known for our excellent workshops and other special facilities and we want to continue to be so in the future. In the new building, we have focused on the specialised facilities required for artistic education and research, such as workshops for textiles, metal, wood and ceramics, concert halls, rehearsal rooms, photo labs, studios and black boxes. And of course galleries and stages where we can share the products of our efforts,” says Sanne Kofod Olsen, dean of the Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts.
The premises will have a flexible design that will allow them to be modified to meet the future needs of the university, at the same time that colocation in the new building will reduce the Faculty’s need to rent facilities by 25 per cent compared with the space that they currently rent. The redevelopment and extension project encompasses a total of approximately 45,000 m2, of which the Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts intends to rent 26,200 m2. Other spaces include a parking garage, as well as attractive offices for external academia-related activities, or which could provide space into which the Faculty could expand in a longer perspective.
Exit from Västlänken
The project also includes an exit from the Västlänken station at Korsvägen, with stores offering tailored services. The exit will be integrated into the new Längan building and located at the corner of Johannebergsgatan and Olof Wijksgatan. The placement was determined in close collaboration with the City of Gothenburg, with the objective of minimising changes in the urban environment. The exit will further encourage interaction between the building and the university in relation to the city, increase the flow and activity in surrounding streets, and improve the potential for sustainable travel to and from the campus.
Sustainable and long term
Building sustainably with a long-term perspective is paramount for both Akademiska Hus and the University of Gothenburg. All construction projects must meet high environmental standards and the new buildings at the Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts will be built with the goal of meeting the requirements for the gold level of the Miljöbyggnad certification system. As part of this effort, recycled materials will be used where possible.
The planned start of the redevelopment and extension project is February 2023. The Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts plans to move in to the new facility in a first phase in 2025, with full occupancy in 2027.
About the Näckrosen Campus
The centrally located Näckrosen campus between Korsvägen and Götaplatsen is a place with great potential. The University of Gothenburg and Akademiska Hus are creating a new university environment for the entire university and the entire city – a new centre for the humanities, arts and culture, for tomorrow’s research and education.
The new Humanisten building was completed in December 2019 and the Faculty of Arts is now all gathered under one roof. In addition to the new building for the Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts, including an integrated exit from the Västlänken Korsvägen station, planning is also underway for a new and more functional university library. Akademiska Hus recently began the renovation of the old Humanisten, known as Språkskrapan, to convert the building into student housing.
With its proximity to the cultural institutions around Götaplatsen, as well as to the events happening on Korsvägen, in a few years the Näckrosen campus will be yet another more active and integrated part of Gothenburg.