Skanska : Establishing Stockholm's new hub for creative companies

5/8/2018 4:01 PM CET

Article

We transformed an industrial area into an office district important not only for organizations seeking modern, flexible and even fun workplaces, but for the city's growth. Here's a look at how we brought our development and construction competencies together to achieve this.

There's a cool new office district in Stockholm. It's a place that a few years ago was known solely as an industrial area, a location not on the map for office tenants. It's just across the water from hip Södermalm, but imagination was needed to see the great commercial possibilities.

What we imagined is now reality: an office cluster that essentially extends trendy Södermalm over the canal. Here, in this place we call Sthlm New Creative Business Spaces, we've developed two office buildings, which we sold in 2017 sold for about SEK 1.3 billion in total. They're home to many companies in such creative industries as game development, information technology and industrial design.

We'll develop five other office buildings nearby, including the 27-story Sthlm 01 under construction - set to be one of Stockholm's tallest buildings, a new landmark topped by a public skybar. In total, the hub will contain about 100,000 square meters (1.1 million square feet) of commercial space.

Sthlm New Creative Business Spaces' location helps the city achieve its goal of diversifying office workplace locations throughout Stockholm.

Benefiting companies and society

What companies find appealing about the cluster is the nearly central location and modern, flexible architecture, some of which reflects the area's industrial heritage. There's a fun vibe too: it's a place where you can take a boat to the office, and play Ping-Pong on a rooftop terrace.

The buildings are also helping fulfill a major priority of the city: diversifying office workplace locations throughout Stockholm. Key to making this all possible are Skanska's diverse capabilities with commercial development, residential development and construction.

'The office is also important for recruitment, it is tough competition in our industry and we need to grow with a number of new roles,' says Malin Hedström, co-founder of Arrowhead Game Studios.

Crafting a second home

Top game developer Arrowhead Game Studios is among the organizations now based at Sthlm New Creative Business Spaces. For their approximately 35 employees they've crafted a second home, an energizing environment that enables different ways of working, along with great views of the city and water.

'We are committed to the staff - to maximize their creativity and drive,' says Malin Hedström, Arrowhead co-founder. 'The office is also important for recruitment, it is tough competition in our industry and we need to grow with a number of new roles.'

A new office destination

Sthlm New Creative Business Spaces' broader benefit is providing a major office destination outside of the city center, where most of Stockholm's modern office spaces are located.

Spreading office clusters is a high priority for the city, as having districts of new office buildings in other neighborhoods will help reduce the number of suburban commuters journeying through the crowded city center. While not in the center, Sthlm New Creative Business Spaces is among the only complexes of new office buildings located close to it.

The 27-story Sthlm 01 - shown in this rendering - will be one of Stockholm's tallest buildings, a new landmark topped by a public skybar.

Completing a puzzle

Achieving this new hub has been like completing a puzzle. The initial office properties are on top of a below-grade city bus facility, a stacking in many ways only possible through concurrent construction. To build both levels, we leveraged our broad construction competencies to provide smart solutions for the many technical challenges.

Furthermore, the first two office properties serve another purpose: being a buffer between three adjacent apartment projects we developed and district heating and concrete plants. To further take the area beyond its industrial roots, all our developments here have or are seeking green certifications: LEED for the offices and Nordic Swan for the residential.

In almost every way, this is an exciting new place to be in Stockholm.

To achieve this new hub, we leveraged our diverse capabilities with commercial development, residential development and construction.

Last updated: 5/8/2018