Center of the future for veterinary and domestic animal science
At the Ultuna Campus in Uppsala, Sweden, Skanska has been commissioned by the Akademiska Hus property company to build a veterinary and domestic animal center, abbreviated in Swedish to VHC. The new center is wide-ranging and complex construction project that covers joint facilities for the university’s animal hospital and for the faculty of veterinary medicine and domestic animal science.
A total of 1.5 million hours has been devoted to planning, project engineering, production and project management.
VHC covers 53,000 square meters distributed among six buildings. Activities at the buildings may be distributed among three main groups: research, education and animal care.
The main entrance is located in the educational section, which, with its glass façade, offers a modern and exciting impression. On the interior, the educational facilities have wide-open spaces and a good deal of shared spaces. This is also the location for laboratories and writing rooms, leading thoughts to creativity and flexibility.
The university’s animal facility is located behind the circle-shaped educational section. Here, the glass surfaces are somewhat less and the atmosphere more subdued. The objective is that the animals feel secure. The west section of the building houses modern stables. Each year, the university animal hospital treats about 7,000 horses and 27,000 small animals.
VHC is permeated by flexibility and openness. This is the site that will provide research with the scope to develop into the future. During spring 2014, the building will be ready for occupation. Students attending at animal education courses provided by SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) will start at VHC during the autumn term of 2014. VHC will be a workplace for some 600 people and 1,000 students.
