A splendid example how a project can really benefit from a good collaboration at all levels – Nya Kronan in Sundbyberg, built by Skanska, developed by Vasakronan, precast and glazed structures produced by UPB and Stiklu centrs. No surprise that Nya Kronan was awarded as the best office building in the Årets Bygge 2022 ceremony.

Nya Kronan is an environmentally smart office building complex, currently occupied by Swedish Tax Services. The houses are divided into smaller volumes with varied design and height, which allows them to fit into the small-scale Sundbyberg area, explains the architects of the project Reflex.

The variation in scale and shape is accentuated by an individual facade design – there are even five different types of façades in the Nya Kronan Hus 1 and Hus 3, emphasizing the architect’s vision and allowing the buildings to fit organically in the urban surroundings, contrasting with the nearby red brick high-rise building.

Precast vs Unitized – 1:0

However, the first step for all parties involved was to understand if unitized façade is really the most suitable solution in this case, considering that there are five different façades in this one project?

UPB (Stiklu centrs is a part of UPB Group) has extensive knowledge in both glazed and precast structures and facades, and during the early phases of the project, we agreed on a solution that would allow our client to build more efficiently and even expand the indoor area, without compromising the building’s aesthetics and performance.  

Together with Skanska UPB decided to change the unitized facades to precast walls with pre-installed windows, with separate cladding installation afterwards. This decision also accelerated both production and installation phases, allowing to enclose the building relatively faster.

Quick installation

An additional aspect of success was also a swift installation – huge thanks to UPB assembly teams for the top-notch performance in such tight, limited area, working simultaneously with 3 tower-cranes in a very intensive schedule.