Kuggen (Swedish for 'the (cogwheel) cog') is a building owned by real estate company Chalmersfastigheter as part of

Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology (, commonly referred to as Chalmers) is a private university, private research university located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Chalmers focuses on engineering and science, but more broadly it also conducts research ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden. It was designed by Wingårdh arkitektkontor. Construction started in October 2010 and completed in March 2011. The building is located on the

Lindholmen Lindholmen may refer to: Places * Lindholmen, Gothenburg, a district on the island of Hisingen, Sweden * Lindholmen, Karlskrona, an island south of Karlskrona, Sweden * Lindholmen, Vallentuna Lindholmen is a locality situated in Vallentuna Muni ...

campus A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

and is connected to the neighboring buildings Jupiter and

Science Park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park", "technopark", "technopolis", "technopole", or a "science and technology park" TP is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters ...

by two walkways on the first floor. The Kuggen building serves as an academic link between

and companies in fields such as mobile data communications and media design.

Design

The exterior is made of six different shades of red and two shades of green. The building is finished in a glazed

terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

. ”Kuggen” is circular to minimize the ratio between skin and area. Each floor adds two bays, causing the building to grow larger in size for each additional floor. The center of each circle shifts so the southern elevation gets the longest shadow. A movable sunscreen tracks the sun and contributes to the shade of the two top floors, while nearby buildings cast their shadows on the lower levels. A Science Park occupies the lower floors, while the second floor is designated for public use and can serve as an exhibition space. The upper floors are reserved for commercial office use.

Green building

Kuggen makes use of green building technology on six different levels: adaptive ventilation; adaptive lighting; interactive heating and cooling systems; photovoltaic cells integrated into a screen system that provides additional shade and electricity; a roof-mounted array of sun collectors that aid the heating tap water; and effective daylighting. The ceramic panels used for the facade were chosen for their longevity. The windows are triangular allowing daylight to follow the ceiling deep into the building while staying at a low ratio (30%) of the elevation surface. The result is a building that aims to limit energy consumption to 60 kWh/m2 per year—well below what is considered a green building—while providing temperature within individual offices between 22 and 26 degrees Celsius.

Awards

* MIPIM Sustainability award (2009) * Nominated in the category "Learning" for the World Architecture Festival 2011 in Barcelona.

References

External links

Книга Taschen о советской архитектуре
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Gothenburg Gert Wingårdh buildings Office buildings completed in 2011 2011 establishments in Sweden Hisingen 21st-century establishments in Västra Götaland County Chalmers University of Technology