A virtuous example in Stockholm

The address is that of a architecturally prestigious renovation project, already avantgarde when it was originally built: Sveavägen 44, the most efficient office building in Sweden, was completed in 1942. At the time it was unique, largely thanks to its use of flexible work space with mobile and glass partitions. Even today, it is one of the city’s largest office complexes, and will soon become even larger following an ambitious renovation and extension project: it will eventually contain 30,000 m2 of offices, 7,000 m2 of shops and 4,500 m2 of residential space, for a total of 52 apartments, a project which is scheduled to complete in 2015. The renovation is intended to improve the flexible layout of its interiors, while the facades on the road and courtyard will be completely restored using the most advanced construction technologies. The curtain wall panels are supplied by Ceramica Fioranese: a special ceramic project (glazed beige panels, in the 296×380 cm size) designed specifically for the building, and which bears the same name as the building itself: Sveavägen 44. The project has been custom designed to cover the large exterior surfaces of the building, whose facades, sloping upwards, are punctuated by large rectangular windows in a grid pattern over seven storeys. It will also be one of Europe’s most efficient buildings, with energy consumption reduced by more than 70 percent to 35 kWh/m2, corresponding to a reduction in CO2 emissions of around 1,000 tons/year. The project is setting itself ambitious environmental goals, and is designed to conform with the BREEAM environmental certification system.
Sveavägen 44 also includes the 4,200 m2 of the Nobis Group’s Miss Clara Hotel, the doors of which opened in Spring 2014, in one of the most interesting and attractive areas of Stockholm — thus adding to the prestige of the address. It has 92 rooms and a restaurant, all featuring locally made furnishings taken from the renovation of the building, originally a girls school, built in 1910. Known as the Ateneum, and designed by architects Hagstrom & Ekman, it is considered one of the purest examples of Art Nouveau in the city, and was recently converted into an elegant international hotel by Wingårdhs, one of Sweden’s top architecture studios, under the direction of Gert Wingårdh himself.
Sveavägen 44 is a project which looks to the future while respecting its heritage, with a Nordic minimalism that combines early twentieth century style with cutting edge technical solutions.