Vattenfall Stockholm
In an attractive location, directly adjacent to both Friends Arena and Mall of Scandinavia in Solna, stands Vattenfall’s energy-efficient and smart head office.
The watchwords for the project were efficiency, transparency and responsibility. The objective was to make Vattenfall an attractive employer and to be number one in environmental terms. The result was one of Sweden’s most energy-efficient office buildings. By utilising heating and electricity from solar and wind power, the building has lower energy use than required by the EU Green Building energy classification. The office is made up of four interconnected buildings of between eight and fourteen storeys. The atrium links together the four structures and extends up to the eighth floor. Each section has been assigned one of the elements – earth, air, fire and water, enabling orientation in this large building.
Archus Arkitektur designed the building, while Tengbom was responsible for the interior. Input interior ensured that the budget and environmental and quality requirements were met for the interior design, and coordinated elements for the 43,000 m2 office
Expertise across generational boundaries
The company’s 2,000 or so employees from the Stockholm region, formerly split between three locations, are now gathered under one roof. A distinct campus feel permeates the whole building and natural meeting places encourage spontaneous discussions, creative meetings and exchange of experiences.
“At Vattenfall we are facing a generation change, and it has therefore been important for the architecture to create meeting places for communication between employees to facilitate transfer of expertise from one generation to the next. Furthermore, these spontaneous meetings are stimulating for the company and result in new ideas hatching. We had high expectations when we moved here. And so far they have been exceeded. We have gained a brand new way of working and socialising,” says Olle Larsten, project manager at Vattenfall.
Space for everyone
All employees have their own workstation in an open-plan office environment, and in addition there are 300 small rooms for individual and undisturbed working as well as a multitude of open meeting places for creative work and spontaneous meetings.
In order to facilitate this, an unconventional layout has been devised, with the traditional workstations moved in towards the centre, while meeting areas are located alongside the windows. The mix of functions creates a dynamic work environment designed to promote increased well-being, productivity and profitability.
