Hille Melbye Arkitekter has been tasked by HENT AS with the architectural design for the first phase of interior works at the Life Science Building. The building will house, among others, the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, making it Norway’s largest university and hospital building.

One of the goals is to make the building attractive for the world’s best researchers to work for the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, both of which will move into the new Life Science Building. The work by Hille Melbye Arkitekter will contribute to cultivating a world-leading academic environment in life sciences.

UiO and OUS under one roof

UiO and OUS already host leading university and hospital environments in teaching, laboratories, offices, and auditoriums. The new, modern premises will open up even more opportunities for research in life sciences. The building is also part of the Oslo Science City project. The facilities in the Life Science Building will be highly technologically advanced while also providing flexibility to accommodate diverse research and collaboration between various groups and stakeholders in life sciences. Creating good meeting places and collaboration is one of the core values ​​of Hille Melbye Arkitekter.

Construction work is already underway, and it will be interesting to see what is achieved when a broad research community comes together and collaborates under one roof. Another goal of the project is to facilitate entirely new ways of collaborating.

Strong and large professional team

Hille Melbye Arkitekter began work in August this year with a strong and large professional team. The project is divided into different disciplines, with Fatima Farran as team leader for laboratories and Mattias Duong as team leader for offices, common areas, and teaching. In addition to being the project manager, Alf Felberg is the team leader for the basement and technical areas.

The project is being developed in collaboration with HENT AS. In November, detailed planning started, and many processes are underway, including extensive recalculations of the project in collaboration with HENT.

Hille Melbye Arkitekter is very concerned that this will add value to cornerstones institutions such as UiO and OUS, as this will be a building of great societal value.

Norway’s largest

The building will have a total area of ​​an incredible 97,500 square meters GFA, making it Norway’s largest university and hospital building. The project started in 2017 and was previously developed by RATIO Arkitekter AS, which won the competition with the proposal VEV in 2014.

The project has gone through a collaboration phase and is currently in a phase where various measures are being taken to ensure the budget. The goal is to finalize a fixed-price contract with HENT AS in May 2023.

When the Life Science Building is completed, it will be a workplace for about 1600 employees and 1600 students, who will research and teach in life sciences, medicine, chemistry, and pharmacy. The building is scheduled for completion in 2026.