Solna United

Right now, Solna United is just a construction pit. But soon, an office building with fifteen stories and 50,000 square meters of space will rise. And it’s needed — this area is bustling with activity. The building is just a stone’s throw from Arenastaden and within walking distance of the Mall of Scandinavia. The name, Solna United, is a clear nod to Manchester United. That’s no coincidence, explains Fredrik Eng, one of the lead architects. This is a place where teamwork, conversation, and encounters take center stage.

“The building is designed to support togetherness, team-building, and group dynamics. Those were our starting principles. When it comes to office buildings, dramatic conceptual ideas are rare, and that’s true here as well. People need to meet, click on a computer, drink coffee — their needs are often quite basic,” he says.

A flexible reality

Most office buildings, including Solna United, are designed with flexibility in mind. Tenants should be able to divide the space into individual rooms, opt for open-plan layouts, or choose a mix depending on their needs. And since the building is expected to stand for up to 200 years, no one really knows how it will be used in the future.

All of this is, of course, constantly in the minds of the architects and the client, Skanska, during the development of Solna United. The building has a tripartite core structure. At the base is a very active, public area that will house a restaurant, café, large entrance zones, and a conference section. The idea is to encourage employees to come down to this active area to work and invite spontaneous meetings — perhaps they run into a colleague and decide to grab a coffee together before even starting the workday. Good ideas can come unexpectedly!

Above the active levels sits the “office machine,” made up of more traditional office floors — but with greater flexibility.

“In the past, when everyone wanted a room of their own, office buildings were long and narrow or shaped like loaves. But today, when we mostly work in open spaces and varied environments — at desks, but also together at whiteboards or computers — the needs look different, and this is reflected in the architecture. Proximity to daylight is not as crucial since people move around more during the workday. What matters is being close to one another, and that’s something we’ve really prioritized,” says Fredrik Eng.

“People need to meet, click on a computer, drink coffee — their needs are often quite basic. The trick is meeting those needs in a thoughtful way.”

At the very top, on the roof, there’s something slightly unusual. Here, small “pods”— container-like meeting rooms—are located for more unconventional gatherings.

Good neighbors and good processes

One ambition has been to make Solna United a distinct contrast to the developments on the other side of the tracks, Arenastaden. Fredrik Eng and his team wanted the building to have its own identity — far from the large volumes, narrow streets, and somewhat scaleless expression of the arena complex. To an average observer, it’s hard to grasp how massive it is.

“It’s a bit like a spaceship — you have no frame of reference. We wanted to create something that felt more like Solna, something more tangible and human-scaled. For example, we chose to work with clear materials like brick. Everyone knows the size of a brick. We always tailor both process and outcome to the specific needs of the project; we don’t stand out because we always use the same façade material or always design rounded corners — but because we maintain a high level of ambition and respect for both client and user,” concludes Fredrik Eng.