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The CMB block on Solna Campus is being rebuilt for life sciences
Thursday, 8 June 2023
Akademiska Hus is investing just over SEK 260 million in an yet another extensive renovation project in Solna. This time, five buildings in what is known as the CMB block will be transformed into state-of-the-art lab environments. With its central location in the middle of the campus, the initiative provides an attractive opportunity for more life science companies to become established in the area.
The Solna Campus is located where Stockholm meets Solna through the major urban development project Hagastaden, which will contain over 6,000 homes and 50,000 workplaces upon completion. Here, education, research and industry will work in close collaboration, forming a unique foundation for a world-class life science cluster.
The CMB block, named after the former home of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at Karolinska Institutet, is located close to the campus’ main entrance on Solnavägen. The prime location of the block on the campus provides direct proximity to Karolinska Institutet, the Nobel Forum, Karolinska University Hospital and the future entrance to the new subway line, which is expected to be completed in 2028.
“Demand to become established on the Solna Campus remains strong and with the creation of more advanced lab environments, we look forward to welcoming new life science participants to the campus. Proximity to world-leading research in medicine and health is attractive, as is the opportunity to benefit from the central venues that are being developed here where students, researchers, visitors, entrepreneurs and startup companies can come together to share knowledge and innovations,” says Anna Alsborger, facilities manager at Akademiska Hus.
Private and shared spaces – with sustainability as a guiding principle
The five buildings in the CMB block comprise a total of just over 9,000 square metres of gross area, including approximately 6,000 in rentable space that will undergo extensive renovation to meet the requirements of modern labs. A new common and connecting main entrance for the block will also be created here, along with common areas that can be used by all tenants such as conference rooms, changing rooms and bicycle storage. Sharing certain spaces contributes to more efficient and flexible space and resource utilisation.
To ensure that the buildings are as sustainable as possible, some of them will be equipped with solar panels and several energy-saving measures will be implemented. The renovation project will also have a strong focus on reuse, in which doors and glass panels, for example, will be reused and reinstalled in new locations.
“By using a sustainable approach to convert existing buildings and adapt them to new applications, we make use of our existing property portfolio and avoid new construction. This is crucial if we are to achieve our goal of climate-neutral operations by 2035,” says Anna Alsborger.
More than SEK 750 million in previous initiatives
When Karolinska Institutet moved parts of its operations to the Biomedicum experimental research laboratory, a unique vacancy arose that provides an opportunity for new companies to become established on the Solna Campus. In addition to the CMB block, since then Akademiska Hus has invested over SEK 750 million in an array of other renovation projects on the Solna Campus, including the Inventum Laboratory, the Scheele Laboratory and the Fysiologen building. All of these projects are aimed at offering life science businesses the opportunity to rent anything from a single office chair and lab counter space to premises with room for large lab environments and entire headquarters.
The renovation of the CMB block is expected to begin in the autumn 2023, with completion in phases between the autumn of 2024 and the autumn of 2025.