“Gothenburg has very strict rules about carbon emissions and building energy-efficient housing,” Partner Kent Jackson recently told the Financial Times about SOM’s Karlatornet, a mixed-use, 74-story building. “So we had to learn and adapt our building practices to meet these very high standards.”
Designed as Scandinavia’s tallest mixed-use building and marking Gothenburg’s 400th anniversary, Karlatornet catalyzes the transformation of the Swedish city’s riverside district. In the article, Jackson explains SOM’s approach to sustainability on the project, shaped by the city’s ambitious environmental credentials. Named the world’s most eco-friendly city for seven years running, Gothenburg aims to be climate neutral by 2030 through measures such as a public transportation system run almost entirely on renewable energy.
Read on for the full Financial Times story for insight into how this new mixed-use development, “both a beacon and a provocation,” has shaped the future of the city’s urban development.