Natrium, Gothenburg University Building / Kanozi Arkitekter

+34

Description submitted by the project team. In August 2023, Natrium, the 32,000 m² teaching, research and laboratory building of the University of Gothenburg, was completed, located in the upper part of Medicinareberget, in the center of Gothenburg. Since the first sketches for the competition in 2016, simplifying and promoting collaboration between the different departments of the Faculty of Sciences, along with creating a flexible research building that responded to the necessary changes in academic laboratories, have been two of the main objectives , having a fundamental impact on the design of the building.

Natrium fits into the existing routes in Medicinareberget, adhering its main entrance to Medicinarelängan, an existing building designed by Klas Anshelm in the 1950s. Here, part of the existing building is opened and reconstructed into a new dining restaurant, facilitating thus the interaction between the new and the existing. The path from the main entrance to the heart of Natrium occurs through a sequence of different rooms offering a variation of spaces and experiences.

Concentrate knowledge. With Natrium the northeastern part of Medicinareberget begins to densify. The goal is to create a coherent campus, which strengthens the links between the Faculty of Sciences and the Sahlgrenska Academy and the medical education and research carried out there. Five of the seven departments of the faculty now meet under the same roof. Students, researchers and staff are now close to each other to create the necessary synergies and allow for spontaneous as well as planned meetings and discussions that will benefit different occupations.

The architecture. Natrium consists of four buildings, connected by a large, bright and welcoming atrium that becomes the natural and social center of the building. The façade, composed of brick, bronze-colored panels and glass, is inspired by the existing buildings in Medicinareberget in order to interact well with its surroundings.

The laboratories and meeting rooms have glass partitions which look towards the interior of the building, towards the staircase and towards the large open spaces that surround them. This open solution makes orientation in the building simple and helps easy tracking of people moving through it. Collaboration is a key point in any research project and Natrium, from the beginning, is designed to promote all possible forms of interaction.