Office Dåva DAC

Environment and sustainability in focus

The project’s ambition was to create a building that shows clarity in its surroundings and gives pride to the people who use it daily. High architectural qualities have been sought, and qualitative material choices, attention to detail and spatialities that offer different experiences are all timeless qualities that give the building identity and create well-being. An atrium has also been created, becoming an oasis with its own microclimate in the otherwise open, unprotected landscape.

The focus on sustainability and the environment is also communicated through the choice of materials and expression inside and out. Wood has been a natural choice for both the roof and façade, and a modern design of a classic volume gives the building character and contemporary relevance. The goal has been to emphasise quality and strive for timelessness.

As this is an extension and not a stand-alone building, the criteria for Environmental Building Gold are more challenging to achieve, as the properties of the existing building are also included in the assessment. To ensure that the project did not deviate from the sustainability plan, an eco-building coordinator was hired to check that the building complied with the environmental requirements.

Environmental Building Gold is a certification awarded by the Sweden Green Building Council and to date has only been awarded to one other building in Umeå. Around 50 other buildings in Umeå are certified at the silver and bronze levels.

A key to the project’s success was clear project management by INAB from the outset, to ensure that everyone involved understood what was required to achieve the Environmental Building Gold level.

At INAB, which runs many different types of construction projects, there is a high level of ambition as regards sustainability, and it is also a keyword that permeates the entire business.

In this project, highlighting the sustainability aspect throughout the construction process and having a long-term approach with the sister company Dåva DAC align with the company’s overall goal of contributing to long-term sustainable growth for Umeå.

In the project, Peab was procured as the contractor for the construction. Both budget and schedule were kept to according to plan, and the staff at Dåva DAC moved into their new premises in December 2021.