Apartments for students and researchers are being built

On 7 November, construction began on the new student and researcher accommodation at Campus Solna. The project has been ten years in the planning and is now finally about to be realised.

The sun shone as the start of construction on the new accommodation at Campus Solna was celebrated.

“This is a vitamin injection; a living and thriving campus needs students and researchers. The housing market in Stockholm is extremely tough and, if we are to attract the best talent, we must be able to offer accommodation.”

So says Ole Petter Ottersen, Vice-Chancellor at Karolinska Institutet (KI) who, together with representatives from KI Housing, the Stockholm Federation of Student Unions (SSCO) and Akademiska Hus, presided over the commencement ceremony.

The new residential area, which will go under the name KI Residence Solna, is located in the north of Campus Solna on the street Fogdevreten. Occupancy of the 322 apartments, housing 400 students and researchers, is planned to take place between August 2019 and January 2020.

Accommodation to be offered to both students and researchers

The project comprises three buildings in the form of a letter A, designed to withstand the noise generated by the nearby motorway. The majority of the housing will be studio apartments, although two and four-room apartments will also be built. The homes will be offered to both students and researchers initially in accordance with KI’s prioritisation model and then in queue-order.

The hope is that the new accommodation will strengthen Stockholm’s role as a student city.

“The lack of available housing in Stockholm is a betrayal of those students who are unable to find accommodation. Today however, we are taking a step towards making this a little easier for them. An investment in student accommodation is the soundest investment Stockholm can make,” says Johan Blixt, chair of SSCO.

The close proximity of the new accommodation to the university is an important element of the project.

“Studies demonstrate that on-campus accommodation has an large impact on students’ results,” says Kerstin Lindberg Göransson, President of Akademiska Hus.

KI is one big construction site

The Campus Solna construction project is only one of many ongoing building investments at KI.

“Although it may be somewhat frustrating that KI appears to be one big construction site, these new buildings represent our future. This project is only one of many that will make KI preeminent,” says Ole Petter Ottersen.

The KI Residence Solna project has a long history. In 2000, temporary apartments were constructed on the site where the new buildings are now being built, with planning of the permanent apartments getting underway in 2007. The problem of noise pollution has been a recurring challenge and building plans have been appealed on several occasions, but now the project is finally being realised.

“This is a great day for everyone who has worked so tirelessly on the project. It’s good to see the initiative taken by former director for innovation and infrastructure Rune Fransson ten years ago come to fruition,” says Ole Petter Ottersen.

Text: Karin Montgomery