New district is a healthcare innovation cluster with a focus on collaboration

GoCo Health Innovation City in Gothenburg, Sweden, will attract researchers, entrepreneurs and talent from the fields of life sciences and healthcare from all around the world and transform the former industrial area into a buzzing new neighbourhood.

In Gothenburg in western Sweden, the new GoCo Health Innovation City district is complete, but continues to develop and grow. The idea for the new district came about when the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announced that it would sell some of its property in Gothenburg. In order to be considered as a potential buyer of the property, the new owner would have to continue to add value to the already existing healthcare ecosystem in the area. This led Steptura to create GoCo Health Innovation City.

The 200,000 square metre district will serve as a cluster for companies working in the life sciences and healthcare sectors, while at the same time helping to transform the former industrial area into a district with around-the-clock life and activity. Attracting researchers, entrepreneurs and talent from all over the world is a priority, with cross-disciplinary cooperation as a focus.

In February 2023, the signature building for the new district, GoCo House, was completed, offering workspaces with partial office and lab space, co-working facilities, shared conference facilities, a café and restaurant, as well as a mobility hub.

From the outside, the 21,000 square metre building looks like a lot of boxes of different sizes stacked on top of each other. This is to visualise the non-static and constantly changing nature that characterises both research and life in general. In terms of construction, several parts of the building stand out, many of them with a sustainability profile. For example, the building consists of a hybrid carcass that uses glulam in combination with steel and concrete, implemented in a recyclable wall module system made from plastic ducting and using construction power from district heating. During the construction process, contractors and suppliers participated in workshops where they were able to share their ideas and thoughts on solutions for the project.

Also central to the building's planning has been the adaptation of the premises without impacting the climate when tenants change or have different needs and wishes. Modularity plays a major role here, and all tenants also have, for example, the same type of carpets, glass partitions, ceilings in kitchens and toilets, and a colour scheme from which to choose colours. GoCo House aims to be climate neutral by 2030.

An acoustic solution that fits in with the design

Troldtekt has been chosen as an acoustic solution in several of GoCo House’s spaces. Characteristic of the spaces is that they will typically host a group of people all at once, such as the building’s restaurant and café, meeting rooms and co-working facilities. These are spaces where excellent acoustics are important so that everyone can be in the same space without disturbing each other. In addition to absorbing the space's reverberation, the acoustic panels also fit in well with the building's interior and design. The colour of the acoustic panels blends in well with the visible wooden structures, metal pipes and recurring grey tones throughout the building.