The Urban Planning Office project for Medicinareberget is ahead of schedule. Expectations are that the City of Gothenburg Building Committee will make a preliminary decision about the objectives and surroundings on January 20, 2015.
No local plan has been drawn up for Medicinareberget at this point. The intention of a preliminary decision will be to establish a framework for the ongoing process. Be that as it may, the project is four months ahead of schedule.
“The consensus that the university and hospital were able to reach has facilitated the effort,” Deputy Vice-Chancellor Margareta Wallin Peterson said at the meeting. She introduced Vision 2020 and played a video showing a birds eye view of the surrounding area [See the video here].
No decisions have been made about specific buildings—the sketches are simply working documents so far. However, a number of thought-provoking ideas have emerged, including structures that dot the hillside from Linné and new portals to the vibrant district that the City of Gothenburg envisages. Student housing, gyms, cafes and research centers are projected as well.
“Akademiska Hus is leaving room for future expansion,” Professor Peterson said, adding that the emphasis is on taking a step-by-step approach.
The initial priority is on three areas: 1) a translational research center that will forge closer links between Sahlgrenska Academy and the hospital; 2) a collaboration center that will bring medical, care and social sciences together; 3) the new entrance at Linné from which the Faculty of Social Sciences will expand up the hill.
The meeting zeroed in on the first proposal, whose working name in the sketches is the Translational Molecular Medical Center. The center is projected to consist of three buildings: 1) on the side of Medicinareberget where the old orthopedic center is currently located: 2) a bridge over Per Dubbsvägen that may include some activities; 3) on Sahlgrenska University Hospital grounds wedged between Jubileumskliniken and the high-rise. The City of Gothenburg has granted SveaNor, a Norwegian real estate company that focuses on the life sciences, a temporary, conditional permit to explore options for new land development.
The estimates that Gunnar C. Hansson presented at the meeting indicated that the translational center will provide 27,000 additional square meters of premises, somewhat more than what Sahlgrenska Academy currently owns. The building is to serve as a hub of all experimental research conducted at both the academy and the hospital. Approximately one-third of those who are affiliated with the center are Academy staff who today have their workplace on Medicinareberget, and the rest will be staff who currently have their workplace on the hospital premises.
“The idea is to integrate various research teams regardless of the institutes they belong to and create a dynamic setting that provides flexible solutions while collaborating with laboratory medicine to ensure fruitful synergies,” Professor Hansson said.
Many of the 70 staff members who participated in the open academy meeting shared their points of view.
Sven Enerbäck mentioned that he would like greater cross-fertilization of research and classroom settings at Medicinareberget than is currently the case, adding his preference for both a glassed-in cafe and a lavish auditorium. Henrik Sjövall pointed out that Sahlgrenska University Hospital cannot afford the luxury of waiting several years for the laboratory medicine building to be completed. Hans Carlsten said that there was no need to be concerned that turning Medicinareberget into a big construction site would slow down new hiring. On the contrary, it would heighten the impression of a future-oriented academy that was expanding its horizons.
Professor Peterson’s last question remained unanswered because the meeting was already over: “Maybe we should think about changing the name. Has anybody tried translating Medicinareberget to English?”
Read more about Project 2020 Medicinareberget: http://medarbetarportalen.gu.se/medicinareberget
