SOLNA
- This spring, Biomedicum was named The Building of the Year in 2019. Since then, interest in our efforts, to design, produce and distribute all pure water, has also increased. We are on the verge of similar projects, says Lars Wiklund, PWS CEO and founder.
Biomedicum was built by Akademiska Hus on behalf of the Karolinska Institutet. The cost of the eleven-storey house was just over SEK 2 billion, well below budget. In addition, the highly advanced research laboratory was completed faster than expected. The Building of the Year is the most prestigious nomination in the community building sector.
- It was well organized and the atmosphere was always good on the building. People finished theirs tasks on time and did what they were supposed to. On our part, the spaces we needed in the basement and on the floor level were ready when our pure water system and the water pipes were to be installed, says technician Martin Lund, who is now responsible for servicing the plant.
In addition to a specially designed water purification plant with several purification steps and a huge capacity of four cubic meters of purified water per day, PWS also designed and drawn 14 different loops for several tapping points in the house. In total, there are about a mile of loops in which the water constantly circulates, to eliminate bacterial growth.
- Overall, this is our most advanced and largest project ever. The demands on the water are extreme and at the same time there are many loops with different pressures depending on floor. We have good knowledge in water chemistry and also great know-how when it comes to pipe drawing and pressure calculation. The rumour about it is spread in the industry through this and similar projects, states Lars Wiklund.
Wiklund refers to the fact that Biomedicum has the country's largest clean water plant in the laboratory world. And that PWS also built the second largest, at the Biocentrum in Uppsala. As well as the fact that plants and pipelines designed by PWS, with head office and production facility in Falun, supplies all clean water to Karolinska Hospital and Karolinska Institute. To name just a few examples from the company's 18-year history.
- No one involved is surprised that Biomedicum became the Building of the Year. It is impressive to be this organized in terms of such an advanced property, both architecturally and functionally. I understand that others with similar projects are following it in the tracks, says Lars Wiklund and concludes:
- Even if you build on a smaller scale, there is much to be learned from the construction process around Biomedicum. We contribute our input to interested parties, but exactly what projects will come out of these discussions is too early to say.
Biomedicum
Client / project manager: Akademiska Hus.
Entrepreneur: Skanska.
Construction time: Five years.
Gross area: 65 000 m2.
Cost: SEK 2,050 million.
Clean water system: CUBO, 4 m3 water / day.
Pure water distribution: 14 loops in eleven floors.
Håkan Edvardsson
Reporter.se