Verdant office building in downtown Gothenburg
In downtown Gothenburg, Skanska has transformed an asphalt parking lot into a green, attractive office building. We have been both the developer and the builder for Park49, which means we bought the land, financed the project, developed the building, and served as general contractor for the construction.
Tailor-made meeting places
The West Sweden Chamber of Commerce had been looking for a new home that could be adapted to their work for a long time. They wanted a central location, good transportation connections, preferably at ground level and with flexible meeting spaces where they could receive both small and large groups. When Skanska bought the property next to the Garden Society and Ullevi Stadium, we immediately thought of the West Sweden Chamber of Commerce. The location was perfect, and they even got a chance to participate in the development of the building.
Water, greenery, and sustainability
At Skanska, we work with a clear concept from which we develop each new project. This allows us to be much clearer about what we want both externally and internally. The watchwords for the Park49 office building in Gothenburg are water, greenery, sustainability, and creating meetings between people.
Park49 is neighbors with the award-winning Garden Society of Gothenburg, one of the city’s proudest features. We want to tie into the park, both through our environmental focus and the green indoor environment. The name Park49 alludes to the nature theme, although of course it also comes from the building’s address: Parkgatan 49.
Smooth collaboration throughout the construction process
Because we were both the developer and the general contractor, the construction process flowed extremely smoothly. The collaboration was also enhanced by the fact that many of the people involved in the project had worked together previously.
We chose to construct Park49 with prefabricated facade panels, which further accelerated the construction schedule. The building is made with 600 facade panels.
A total of about 700 people worked on the project. There were as many as 120 working on the site at one time.
The clay-rich soil on the lot made the foundation work challenging
The foundation was the most technically difficult aspect of the construction. Anyone who has worked on a construction project in Gothenburg knows that clay soil presents a big challenge. We drilled an exploratory bore hole 90 meters deep into the ground without striking solid bedrock. Therefore we chose to drive cohesion piles 55 meters deep into the clay. When the piles are driven so deep, it creates enough friction with the surrounding soil to give us a solid foundation to build on.
Soccer fans make the ground bounce
The proximity to Old Ullevi Stadium required our structural engineers to study vibrations caused by enthusiastically bouncing soccer fans. This kind of vibration can actually cause nearby buildings to move. But it turned out that the location of the stands in the arena means that Park49 will not be substantially impacted. We came up with a few special strategies anyway because of the proximity to Old Ullevi. We put up fencing to prevent disturbances during high-risk matches and the ground floor has been fitted with security glass.
Green building with lofty ambitions
The proximity to the Garden Society and Skanska’s commitment to building green resulted in lofty ambitions for Park49. Our ideas have been reflected in the both the building’s design and its smart climate strategies.
The building is certified according to the international environmental leadership system LEED at the highest level, Platinum. The certification means that we are fulfilling a long list of criteria that deal with aspects of sustainable building and community enhancement.
Theme creates a common thread for uncommon sustainability
The theme for Park49 has given character to the exterior shell and the inner heart of the property. The theme comes through in the building’s colors: glacier white above, ocean green below.
The glass facade has been colored by attaching a silkscreen print to the inside. Undulating solar screens run along the lower levels of the building, enhancing the water theme. Like many other elements in the building, these details are not just beautiful; they fill climate-smart functions. The solar screens and silkscreen print filter out the sun, as does the white color. That reduces the amount of energy needed to cool the building, saving on carbon dioxide emissions.
Huge roof terraces with spectacular views
The building is ten stories high with five-story wings on either side. On top are two beloved roof terraces with fantastic views. The facades are inspired by Gothenburg’s close relationship with the water.
“The watchwords for the building are water, greenery, sustainability, and meetings, and the roof terrace became a common denominator for all of them,” says Erika Gummesson, Director of Communications at Skanska Properties in Gothenburg. “It’s like we lifted up a bit of the Garden Society and set in on the roof.”
The architecture firm Design collaborated with us at Skanska to produce the design for Park 49. They were so happy with the result that they decided to move into the building.
