Livsvitenskapsbygget

On behalf of HENT AS, Hille Melbye Arkitekter has been responsible for the architectural design in Phase 1 (Collaboration) and Phase 2 (Execution – detailed design and follow-up during the construction period) for the interior works of the Life Sciences Building, a project led by the developer, Statsbygg.

The impressive building, which will become Norway’s largest university and hospital facility, will house both the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital.

The exterior illustration on the project’s front page was created by Ratio Arkitekter AS, and the copyright belongs to Kvant 1.

UiO and OUS under one roof

One of the project’s goals is to make it more attractive for the world’s best researchers to work at the University of Oslo and Oslo University Hospital, both of which will move into the new building when it is completed in 2026.

“We hope that our work can help cultivate a world-leading academic environment within life sciences. The design phase has been completed and construction is in full swing, and we are very excited to see how this will take shape,” says Marianne Guriby Dahl, Managing Director at Hille Melbye Arkitekter.

UiO and OUS already house leading university and hospital environments, with facilities for teaching, laboratories, offices, and auditoriums. The new, modern facilities will open even more opportunities for international and interdisciplinary collaboration in research on life, aging, and disease. The project is also part of the Oslo Science City initiative.

“The facilities in the Life Sciences Building will be highly technically advanced, yet flexible enough to support versatile research and collaboration between different disciplines and actors across research, healthcare, and industry. Creating interaction and good meeting places is one of our core values at Hille Melbye Arkitekter, and I think we can only dream of what might be achieved when we bring together a broad research community under one roof—with even more space to collaborate,” says Project Director Alf Felberg.

Strong and Large Expert Team

Hille Melbye Arkitekter began work in August 2022 with a strong and extensive professional team. The project is divided into various disciplines, with architect Fatima Farran—later succeeded by Julie Transel—as team leader for laboratories, Mattias Duong as team leader for offices, public spaces, and teaching areas, and Fisnik Haxhimehmedi as team leader for technical areas. The entire design team consisted of a total of 20 employees, with Alf Felberg as overall project director.

“The detailing phase has now been completed, and all teams have carried out their design work in close and good collaboration with other consultants, Statsbygg, and HENT,” says team leader Julie Transel. “We are very proud of this!”

“There have been many extensive processes—from recalculating the project, to collaboration through ICE meetings and a shared coordination model (BIM360). Advanced digital collaboration tools have been used for communication, problem-solving, quality assurance, and documentation,” says team leader Mattias Duong.

“Technically complex challenges have been solved in a targeted and efficient manner through strong collaboration and advanced digital tools,” adds team leader Fisnik Haxhimehmedi.

“This is an incredibly important project for us, and we’ve been very focused on doing our best to create added value for cornerstone institutions like UiO and OUS. This will be a building with significant social value,” says Managing Director Marianne Guriby Dahl of Hille Melbye Arkitekter.

The building will have a total area of up to 100,000 m² (gross floor area), making it Norway’s largest and most comprehensive university and hospital building. The project began in 2014 after Ratio Arkitekter, in collaboration with Cubo Arkitekter, won the competition with the proposal VEV. Ratio was subsequently involved in the concept, preliminary, and detailed design phases in collaboration with the main contractors up until the execution contracts were signed. After this, a cost-reduction phase was carried out, during which Hille Melbye Arkitekter (HMARK) was contracted for further detailed design of the project.

“The project has gone through both a collaboration phase and a detailing phase. Currently, construction is in full progress, and HMARK has entered a phase of on-site follow-up and additional design orders.”

When completed, the Life Sciences Building will provide workplaces for approximately 1,600 employees and 1,600 students, conducting research and teaching in life sciences, medicine, chemistry, and pharmacy. The building is scheduled for completion in 2026.