Gothenburg Showcases Award-Winning Green Buildings

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20 November 2020 | Updated 02 December 2020

Green Gothenburg is inviting its travel-banned visitors to a virtual tour of its award-winning buildings, where the latest innovations in smart technology are demonstrated.

Green Gothenburg is part of Smart City Sweden, a state-funded export platform for sustainable city solutions. They welcome delegations from all over the world who are interested in investing in smart & sustainable city solutions from Sweden.

HSB Living Lab – A Creative Social Space for Experimenting

HSB Living Lab, a sustainable "habitation infrastructure" for students and guest researchers, is one of the testbeds showcased in the virtual tour. It is a social space and laboratory consisting of 44 cubic modules with 29 apartments.

“HSB Living Lab has been developed through open-innovation processes between the Swedish housing association HSB, Chalmers University of Technology, Johanneberg Science Park and several industry partners. So far, more than 100 projects have been carried out in the lab”, commented Katarina Clase, Business Developer at Business Region Göteborg. 

“Visiting HSB Living Lab is like travelling a decade forward in time. Solar cells are integrated in the walls, windows that absorb and store the sunlight as thermal energy are being tested, and there is a plethora of smart home interactions that makes living easier, to name but a few of the spectacular solutions.”

According to The European Portal for Energy Efficiency in Buildings, the lab is a temporary structure meant to be dismantled and relocated after ten years, using smart “cubic” solutions, instead of the traditional 2D mind-set.

Picture: an architect's image of the cross-section of HSB Living lab

A Lab for Future Learning Environments

Nearby, A Working Lab is an office building with 430 workplaces, in a flexible space, dedicated to collaboration and innovation. The foundation is made of environmentally friendly concrete and the building’s district heating system is supplied with thermal energy from the local 1,000 square meter solar plant.

The climate impact has been reduced with smart materials and salt storage of thermal energy is used for efficient indoor temperature control. The lab also contains a restaurant, café, co-working areas and conference and meeting rooms.

Winner of the Environmental Building of the Year 2019

The housing association Riksbyggen Brf Viva is the first practical application of the insights from Riksbyggen Positive Footprint Housing, an interdisciplinary project looking into how to build environmentally, socially and economically sustainable neighbourhoods. 

The houses are designed to function as plus energy units thanks to well-insulated frames and energy storage in used bus batteries.

“The physical environment is designed to encourage spontaneous meetings and convey a sense of community. The building was voted the Environmental Building of the Year at the Swedish Green Building Awards 2019”, said Clase.

You can experience the virtual tour here, with or without VR glasses.

Picture: a photograph of the exterior of the HSB Living Lab

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 20 November 2020

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