The 9,500-square-metre building consists of seven floors and contains teaching facilities, offices, study spaces and a café, as well as examination halls with space for up to 540 people. Aurora connects Universum, Aula Nordica and the Natural Sciences Building and strengthens Campus Umeå's physical identity.
"It is a building that symbolises the future of research and education. The building is designed to meet the needs of the university's operations, and enables the university's examination activities to be brought together on the main campus for the first time," says Ali Ranji, Project Director at Akademiska Hus.
Construction started in November 2022, and Akademiska Hus has invested SEK 340 million in the project. The building will begin to be used on a smaller scale this spring, and then be fully operational in the autumn. After that, it is estimated that approximately 2,800 exams per year will take place in Aurora.
Photo: Mattias Pettersson/Umeå University.
Flexible premises for increased use of premises and reduced climate footprint
The premises can be used flexibly with exam halls that can be converted into classrooms, and vice versa, as needed. Flexibility is one of the many climate-smart aspects of Aurora, which is built with sustainability as a watchword.
This includes everything from environmentally friendly material choices and carefully evaluated system choices, to energy-efficient functions such as demand-controlled ventilation and lighting. Another sustainability aspect that contributes to a reduced climate footprint is that Aurora was originally intended to be larger than what will now be the case. By collecting data via booking systems and analysing how the university's existing premises can be used even better, Akademiska Hus and Umeå University have been able to significantly reduce the original need for new production.
Photo: Mattias Pettersson/Umeå University.
Meeting the needs of the business
The building meets a great need from Umeå University, not least in terms of the rapid development of digital written exams.
"The building will also be able to be used for so much more than traditional exam rooms. This should be an obvious place for our students and employees to be, and connects the campus in a nice way. I really believe that this makes Umeå University's campus even more attractive and vibrant," says Hans Wiklund, University Director at Umeå University.
Cathrine Norberg, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Undergraduate and Master's Education at Umeå University, agrees and emphasizes the importance of the building being able to create a sense of calm in the sometimes stressful situations that an exam can entail. The interiors of the house have calm, natural colours and materials, a large natural light and a grove of trees clearly visible through the large windows.
- In addition, the Student Centre, Info Centre and other important functions for students are close by. This building provides many and important opportunities for students. Now we look forward to it being filled with life and movement, and we hope that both students and staff will enjoy themselves," says Cathrine Norberg.
Photo: Mattias Pettersson/Umeå University.
Robert Hertzberg
Projektchef