In the next step, the pre-design phase, architects will present a sketch of a new layout of the University's premises. The architects do their work in dialogue with the University's project group. The plan is to forward a sketch for consideration to relevant actors within the University in the autumn of 2025.
"The pre-design phase will be an exciting time," says the campus development project manager, Robert Holmberg. "Now we will see how architects interpret our expressed needs. The property owner is of course very involved at this stage and I am curious about what smart and sustainable solutions can be developed in the building,"
It is necessary to monitor the estimated rental costs in this phase. Too high estimated rents were one of the reasons for the Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts cancelling plans for co-location in Varvsstaden in Malmö in December of 2024.
"It is important that we, and the entire University, take the opportunity to learn from the projects that have now been cancelled, just as we should learn from the projects being implemented," Holmberg says. "It is an essential task for the project's steering group to critically review the project's development, and for the project group to take seriously its task of providing sufficient information to the steering group. The faculties must be able to demand realistic financial forecasts and rent calculations in good time".
The development project at Campus Helsingborg began in the spring of 2023. Since autumn 2024, the project group has collected data to map the staff's and students' needs for premises. The pre-design phase is followed by a schematic design phase, a design development phase and a construction documents phase.
"Premises projects are long and pose certain challenges," says Holmberg. "Without being too optimistic, one can imagine that we will have completed the premises in 2029-2030. But we are still early in the project and a lot can happen. In recent years, many external factors have changed, such as the pandemic, the economic situation, and the view of sustainability in the construction sector."
More about campus development in Helsingborg (in Swedish) - ch.lu.se