With the open and transparent base as a link between the existing faculty buildings, Forum Medicum will become the new gathering place for employees, students, researchers and visitors at the Medical faculty of Lund University in Sweden. The architecture creates a uniting forum for the town.
Forum Medicum will be the new rallying point for all students and bundles the various educational areas and fields of research in one new medical research centre at the Medical faculty of Lund University. The central location by Sölvegatan and the ambitious agenda for the buildings will be a generator for the development of the university, the plans for the Campus and for Kundskabsstrøget.
The indoor plaza, the Forum, will be an accessible area with café, restaurant and meeting points and continues the outdoor public areas. The open indoor and outdoor areas will fuse into one great urban forum, making room for exhibitions and an informal learning environment, while emphasizing the functions of Forum Medicum for the outside world.
The building on top of the Forum is rotated 45 degrees. The twist strengthens the identity and expression of the building, and helps the building to blend in with the area around Sölvegatan. The diagonal rotation of the bottom and top building utilizes the area optimally and provides unique recreational spaces in and outside the building in niches and terraces.
Durable and natural materials are signifying for the building. Symbolizing the different forms and functions of the Medical Faculty warm and cold materials are mixed. Steel and wood are recurrent materials, creating an atmosphere of the building that juxtaposes clinic precision and sensuous warmth – professionalism combined with humanism. Façade and roof in the bottom building are also cladded with steel and wood, filtrating the daylight and providing a feeling of being outside under the treetops.
A pleasant indoor climate, energy efficient solutions and sustainable long-lasting materials has been guiding tools for the design of the Forum Medicum.
To lower energy consumption the building’s passive properties are optimized through envelope insulation, LED lighting and variable air volume ventilation systems (VAV).
Photovoltaic panels on the roof cover an area of 1350 sq m and maximize the production of energy with up to 200MWH annually.
The design of the building ensures that the indoor environment lives up to the needs of an educational facility with various functions. The areas closest to the façade, with high solar exposure have a more flexible indoor environment. They are multipurpose, flexible spaces used for studying, meeting, leisure activities, etc. during the day.
Due to the need of a more stable, controlled indoor environment, class-rooms are situated distantly from the façade. This way they avoid direct sunlight exposure but at the same time maintain a high level of daylight autonomy (more than 50%) and a moderate daylight factor of 1 to 2%.
The square in front of the building is open and welcoming creating a gathering point between faculty and town, users and visitors. The functions of the Forum Medicum, such as the café, the restaurant, the exhibitions as well as research and teaching, can move out onto the plaza as well.
The more intimate courtyards are green and offer recreational spaces for the users of the building as well as a training station. The materials are natural and light with the concrete tiles of the pavement varying in shape and size depending on the space.
Nick Myall
News Editor
