of
Danish Arkitema Architects have won the competition to design a new Life Science build at the University of Bergen. Making room for both science and industry, the goal is to materialise the visions of Science City Bergen. With a prominent placement in Norway’s second largest city the new 17,500 sq m building will become a southward gateway to the university. The project is won together with Bergen-based architects Arkitektgruppen Cubus.
The appointment of Arkitema Architects and Cubus as winners of the competition to design the new Energy and technology building (EnTek) at the University of Bergen (UiB) marks a starting point of a new vision. EnTek is designed to ensure even more collaboration between UiB’s faculty and the energy and technology industry. At the same time the winning proposal also includes a new street bringing university and city even closer together.
The project also makes room for an entirely new public space in Bergen “Science City” that will lift professional communities and bring new thoughts to life. The vision of Science City Bergen is to support even more research and development between companies and faculties, with the ambition to become an international portal for innovation within energy, climate and technology.
The future EnTek building will become a landmark in Bergen with both an aesthetic and usable architectural design. Furthermore the establishment of a new street from the southern parts of Bergen towards UiB will create a new central meeting point for researchers as well as citizens of Bergen.
“We are proud to have won such a prestigious project in Bergen. The historic value of the university is enormous and its buildings and spaces are some of the most important and symbolic in the city. With our proposal for the EnTek building we have created a new and dynamic research and study environment, with high aesthetic qualities and thought through functionality. Hopefully this will underline UiB’s position in Bergen. EnTek is situated right next to the oldest building on campus, the Meteorological Institute, so the building will mark a new and modern arrival to the university, but at the same time symbolically linking future and past. That is just an extra bonus for us, making it even more interesting,” says senior partner in Arkitema Architects Per Fischer.
Besides Arkitema Architects and Arkitektgruppen Cubus, the winning bid also consisted of Danish engineers EKJ Rådgivende Ingeniører. The Entek building will become of 17,500 sq m and is planned to open in 2019.
Nick Myall
News editor