Wingårdh Arkitektkontor - Ericcson ECS Research Facility

Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB
Ericcson ECS Research Facility
Lund,Sweden

Photo courtesy Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Ericsson Communication Systems (ECS) gave Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB the challenge to find a site and provide a plan that would allow a 200 percent expansion of a 23,800 square meter structure. The structure was to include rentable space because ECS might occupy it for only seven years.

The site selected was in a cornfield across the main highway and close to the Lund University Compound. Located on the highest hill in an otherwise rather flat countryside, the location commands sensational views of the Baltic strait.
Sociology was the main design criteria for the building ECS is pushing the envelope of communication theory and hardware. This is done in ever changing projects that group different specialists. The size of the groups is very fluid, starting with just a few people and ending with perhaps most of a unit combining its capabilities. In Sweden, it is considered unacceptable to have a workplace that is not in direct contact with natural daylight. Thus, the plan provides a long perimeter with wings projecting outwards in a star like fashion, facilitating expansion in many directions from a central communication "Hub".

Photo courtesy Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

The "Hub" is the heart of the scheme. Everyone has to pass through it when entering or leaving, and it gives access to the restaurant and meeting rooms. All bio break areas are grouped around the Hub, which is designed as an inward looking, slightly sacred room top lit with glass balconies and stairs arranged in a triangular shape.

Photo courtesy Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

The railings are varied providing shelves for coffee breaks, paperwork, communication sockets, and so on. Different materials such as steel, glass, and wood combine to make it a lively area enhancing comfort and communication. The design goal was to create a space for chance meetings and cross fertilization of ideas for a critical mass of people in a limited space-it is all about communication, about being heard.
The ECS landscape was similar to and was very much inspired by a 1960s collage done by Hans Hollein that placed an American nuclear aircraft carrier in the rolling landscape of the Austrian countryside. The ECS exterior features a red flat top with inclining bows and sterns, top railings, and a central top structure.
The first phase now houses 620 people, and the project is growing into the third phase. Construction is precast concrete slabs on steel beams and pillars.

Site Drawing courtesy Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Plan courtesy Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Drawing courtesy Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB

Project Team:
Gert Wingårdh
Torbjörn Edgren
Gunilla Murnieks
Urban Pihl, Per
Glembrandt, Björn Dufva
Anna Evaldsson

Static Construction: SCC Lassen Byggkonsult
Mechanical: CLC
Electrical: Gösta Sjölander AB
Landscape: Landskapsgruppen AB

April 20, 2000

Gert Wingårdh

Gert Wingårdh arcspace features





				Features
		Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB Ericcson ECS Research Facility Lund,Sweden Photo courtesy Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB Ericsson Communication Systems (ECS) gave Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB the challenge to find a site and provide a plan that would allow a 200 percent expansion of a 23,800 square meter structure. The structure was to include rentable space because ECS might occupy it for only seven years. The site selected was in a cornfield across the main highway and close to the Lund University Compound. Located on the highest hill in an otherwise rather flat countryside, the location commands sensational views of the Baltic strait. Sociology was the main design criteria for the building ECS is pushing the envelope of communication theory and hardware. This is done in ever changing projects that group different specialists. The size of the groups is very fluid, starting with just a few people and ending with perhaps most of a unit combining its capabilities. In Sweden, it is considered unacceptable to have a workplace that is not in direct contact with natural daylight. Thus, the plan provides a long perimeter with wings projecting outwards in a star like fashion, facilitating expansion in many directions from a central communication "Hub". Photo courtesy Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB The "Hub" is the heart of the scheme. Everyone has to pass through it when entering or leaving, and it gives access to the restaurant and meeting rooms. All bio break areas are grouped around the Hub, which is designed as an inward looking, slightly sacred room top lit with glass balconies and stairs arranged in a triangular shape. Photo courtesy Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB The railings are varied providing shelves for coffee breaks, paperwork, communication sockets, and so on. Different materials such as steel, glass, and wood combine to make it a lively area enhancing comfort and communication. The design goal was to create a space for chance meetings and cross fertilization of ideas for a critical mass of people in a limited space-it is all about communication, about being heard. The ECS landscape was similar to and was very much inspired by a 1960s collage done by Hans Hollein that placed an American nuclear aircraft carrier in the rolling landscape of the Austrian countryside. The ECS exterior features a red flat top with inclining bows and sterns, top railings, and a central top structure. The first phase now houses 620 people, and the project is growing into the third phase. Construction is precast concrete slabs on steel beams and pillars. Site Drawing courtesy Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB Plan courtesy Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB Drawing courtesy Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB Project Team: Gert Wingårdh Torbjörn Edgren Gunilla Murnieks Urban Pihl, Per Glembrandt, Björn Dufva Anna Evaldsson Static Construction: SCC Lassen Byggkonsult Mechanical: CLC Electrical: Gösta Sjölander AB Landscape: Landskapsgruppen AB April 20, 2000 Gert Wingårdh Gert Wingårdh arcspace features