INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED
Kungsbrohuset is extremely energy-efficient and well thought through. We set the bar high and had very strict requirements. It cost somewhat more in the investment phase, but we will recoup our money through the management of the building. We are very pleased with the result and there is a great deal of international interest in the building; we can’t quite believe it ourselves! It began when the news agency AFP highlighted what we were doing. Since then Swedish TV, CNN, the BBC and a number of building companies and authorities have all visited here. Japan’s largest property company says that we are setting a great example. We have had about 150 study visits here so far, which is really cool and also gives us an opportunity to convey information at the same time. When I lecture at KTH, I also try to challenge the architecture and engineering students with our approach to construction.
EVERYONE WILL MOVE THINGS AROUND
The building has a few solid walls, but apart from those it’s all Moelven Eurowand interior systems throughout the entire building. We want the offices to be very flexible so there’s no other option. We know that each tenant that moves in here will move things around. No matter how well we design and build the building, and despite the fact that the tenants get to design their own offices,we know there will be changes from day one. It happens with us as well, the owners of the building.
MORE AND MORE CHANGES
Company reorganisation and changes take place all the time and this will continue for the foreseeable future. Project-based working methods are becoming more common and companies let people move between units and build new groups. When the offices no longer suit, you need to be able to alter the premises in a straightforward way.
THE DESIGN OF THE PREMISES INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT
We have found a niche for the building: to be used as the head offices of national and international companies whose staff need to travel often since we are situated so close to the central station.
Each tenant has been given their own layout exactly as they have requested. The design of the premises is becoming increasingly important; nowadays you’re virtually in competition with your own premises. It pays to have cool, trendy premises in order to attract employees who want to stay for a long time. Sitting in a 1970s office is no longer attractive.
WE TRACE THE ORIGIN OF OUR MATERIALS
System walls can be reused and in my opinion this is to be encouraged from an environmental viewpoint. At Jernhusen we know everything about all our building materials. Environmental performance down to product level will become clear very quickly, especially for the suppliers of materials. Not only in terms of the actual product, what it contains and how the content is produced, but also in terms of how much energy was used in order to manufacture the product.
PRESSURE ON THE INDUSTRY
We’re probably the first to look past our suppliers and establish where their materials come from and, in turn, where their own suppliers obtained their materials. In five years I believe that we at Jernhusen will know exactly both what the carbon dioxide emissions of a building are and the working conditions of the place where the materials originated. With the next building we will try to increase the pressure on suppliers and the industry and then see what happens.
WE WANT TO SET A GOOD EXAMPLE
We are doing this in order to ensure that no environmental problems arise in the next stage and the stage after that. We are state-owned and want to set a good example and drive forward the development. We run building projects worth an enormous sum of money, SEK two billion a year for ten years, and that means we want to prove and know that we're doing things right.