The demand for wood as building material is increasing and after Sara Kulturhus in Skellefteå, which is one of the world's tallest wooden buildings, it is now time for the country's tallest office building to emerge in Umeå. The ten-storey building was designed by Wingårdhs Arkitekter and is part of the new sustainable area that connects the centre of Umeå with the university city.
Martinsons Byggsystem has been involved in the entire process – from project management and construction to assembly management, while Bygdsiljum Sawmill has manufactured the material. On the two lowest floors, which are built with a concrete frame, there will be a gym and a restaurant part. The client is the Baltic Group, while NCC is the general contractor for stage 1, which is being built and certified based on the Miljöbyggnad Gold label.
“Balticgruppen hired us as a consultant in the system action stage to find important keys and make the process rational from the start, then NCC was procured in full competition. We were involved in creating how the frame would look in the house, then we have been involved in Projektstudio, which is the model that NCC applies and which I think is a very good way to work with. The planning has worked out very well”, says Robert Andersson, project manager at Martinsons Byggsystem.
Petra Videstorm works as a group manager in Martinsons´ construction department and has been involved in the project planning as coordinating designer.
“Considering the building's slim and asymmetrical design, initially the biggest challenge was to manage the building's dynamics, and at the same time achieve a good design of additional details that would go hand in hand with the architect's vision of the final product”, says Petra Videstorm.
Right now, the elevator shaft is being assembled. The next step will be to place the pillars and then the first joist will arrive. The house is expected to be ready in 2024.
Previously, Holmen, through Martinsons Byggsystem, was involved in building Magasin X in the centre of Uppsala, a six-storey wooden office building with a total area of 16,600 square meters, which was completed in 2022. Martinsons was the general contractor and supplied the wooden frame.
“Now we have such experience that we find details that contribute to the whole. Since we within the Holmen Group have the product in form of the raw material, the manufacturing chain and the construction, we have control over the entire flow and it is an assurance that I think permeates our projects, says Petra Videstorm.