In Helsingborg, Skanska has built a 11 000 square meter office for developer Wihlborgs that merges European architecture with green energy. The “Prisma” project, with its 592 unique unitized glass facades, is located in the harbor of Helsingborg, Sweden. The building is a part of a new extension of the city- designed to develop the old harbor and industrial land into a new district.
We talked to Erik GIUDICE, EGA Erik Giudice Architects’ Founder & Director, about how the striking design came to be, and how to design a building for multiple tenants and needs.
Prisma is such a beautiful and unique building, can you start by telling us a little bit more about it, where did the idea come from?
Prisma is part of the expansion of Helsingborg city center where the previous industrial port area is being transformed into a mixed-use neighborhood called Oceanhamnen, and the building stands as a landmark with its expressive prismatic geometry. Characterized by its faceted facade, the design of Prisma takes both the bigger and the smaller scale into consideration. The parametric facade system of transparent and opaque glass triangles creates an origami-like expression that breaks down the scale of the building, while simultaneously providing an iconic design that strengthens the maritime and innovative identity, both of the neighborhood and the city of Helsingborg.
Designed to become an attractive spot for people working in the building as well as for visitors, the ground floor serves as a place for public gathering, with commercial functions such as restaurants and cafés. The building's transparency connects it to the public spaces surrounding it, with the main entrance opening up towards the public square and the city. The multifunctional auditorium is also a very important feature, creating a hotspot in the building's central core.
Prisma is going to be used by several different companies, how did you take this into consideration during the design process?
The building is designed with a very high degree of flexibility: large open floorplans with minimized vertical structures, combined with two compact, vertical cores, creates infinite possibilities to adapt the movable partitions according to every tenant specific and evolving needs.
In addition, multipurpose common spaces and attractive amenities that respond to various needs, combined with smart building systems and robust IT infrastructure for tenant customization, further improve flexibility. The central atrium provides natural light in the core of the building, contributing to optimizing the usability and the efficiency of the office spaces. Good acoustics and climate control ensure tenants comfort, and early tenant engagement in the design process provided customizable interior fit-out options.
The building is classified as Miljöbyggnad Guld, did you have an outspoken goal regarding sustainability from the get-go?
The sustainability goals were defined from the start, in line with the developer Wihlborgs very ambitious environmental targets. As such, the Miljöbyggnad Guld certification was a primary objective from early on. We also consider our mission to always raise the bar, creating a holistic design that includes energy efficiency low carbon construction, use of sustainable materials and providing comfortable and healthy environments for the tenants with excellent daylight conditions, views, acoustics and climate.
The building also features a large terrasse with spectacular views towards the sea and the city, providing space for meetings, work, relaxation, and physical activities with an outdoor gym.
Did you encounter any challenges during the project?
The design and the building phase run smoothly with an efficient collaboration between client, architects, engineers and builders. The buildings unique design provided challenges, in particular regarding structural and facade design, but with a very high degree of competence from all involved parties, solutions where developed that fulfilled both the esthetic, technical and environmental goals.
Is there anything that you feel extra proud about regarding Prisma?
It’s particularly satisfying to observe the fulfillment of Prisma’s users and visitors, proving that we have been successful in creating a stimulating architecture and environment for innovation. The building has become the centerpiece for the tech hub HETCH and for the innovation district that is being developed by the City of Helsingborg and its partners. Prisma’s progressive design has become a visual landmark contributing to the placemaking of Oceanhamnen, while also symbolizing Helsingborg’s future-oriented mindset.
Facts:
WICONA-costumer: Staticus
WICONA-product: WICTEC facades
Architect: EGA Erik Giudice Architects
© Photographer: Anders Bobert
