Karlatornet

Karlatornet
Interactive map of the Karlatornet area
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeResidential/Hotel/Office
LocationLodjursstråket 1, 417 51, Lindholmen, Gothenburg, Sweden
Coordinates57°42′35″N 11°56′20″E / 57.70972°N 11.93889°E / 57.70972; 11.93889
Construction started2019
Completed2024
Height
Architectural246 m (807 ft)[1]
Technical details
Floor count74
Design and construction
ArchitectSkidmore, Owings and Merrill
DeveloperSerneke Group AB
Structural engineerVBK Konsulterande Ingenjörer AB
Main contractorKarlastaden Development AB
Website
Official website 1
Official website 2
[2][3][4]

The Karlatornet (lit. 'The Karla Tower') (also known as Polstjärnan[5] or Kalvagnstorenet[6]) is a mixed-use skyscraper built by Serneke in Lindholmen in Gothenburg, Sweden. Started in 2019 and topped out in June 2023, the tower stands at 246 m (807 ft) tall with 74 floors, was completed in the autumn of 2024 and is the current tallest building in Sweden.[7][8]

The building's architecture firm is Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, and it was built by Serneke Group AB.[9] It was finished in 2024, but the first inhabitants started moving in from August 2023.[10][11] The building reached 246 metres tall (807 ft), and is the tallest building in Scandinavia and in the Nordic countries. On 22 September 2022, the tower reached this milestone at 193 metres, officially surpassing Turning Torso in Malmö.[12]

Background

Development

In an interview for GT from April 2010, Ola Serneke spoke about his plan to build Karlastaden, several high-rise buildings on Serneke's site in the Lindholmen district of Hisingen. The tallest building was planned to be 35 stories high.[13] In August 2013, detailed plans were presented to build Karlavagnstornet on the site, a 201-meter-high skyscraper with 60 floors for two billion kronor.[14] In an architectural competition, 58 architectural firms submitted entries for Karlatornet and Karlastaden. In May 2014, five proposals were selected for a second round. The winner was the American architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill – who had previously designed One World Trade Center – with the proposal "Polar Star" with the justification:[15]

An identity-creating proposal that takes a smart holistic approach to both the skyscraper and the urban environment. The proposal integrates the local environment into a whole that provides the opportunity for a vibrant urban environment. The skyscraper's clear identity gives character and vitality to Lindholmen and becomes Gothenburg's new landmark and pride.

— Ola Serneke for Expressen in April 2010.

SOM's proposal for Karlastaden also included several other tall buildings.[16][17] The plans were developed and the final draft detailed plan included the following tall buildings: Karlatornet (73 floors), Cassiopeja (43 floors), Auriga (36 floors), Virgo (27 floors), Lynx (17 floors) and Capella (17 floors). The area was proposed to include rental and condominium apartments , senior housing, hotels, offices, preschools, a health center, retail, restaurants and a cultural center.[16]

The detailed plan for Karlastaden was approved by the Gothenburg Building Committee in May 2017.[18] The City Council gave the go-ahead a month later.[19]

Appeals

The decision to approve the detailed plan for Karlastaden was appealed to the County Administrative Board. The County Administrative Board pointed out that the detailed plan for the building could not be accepted as it was considered to lack supporting documents. The County Administrative Board also argued that the plans risked harming national interests and that the development could be unsuitable for people's health and safety. In addition, several appeals were made. This delayed the construction process.[20]

After the agreements and declarations of intent requested by the County Administrative Board were received, the decision of the Municipality of Gothenburg regarding Karlastaden was submitted for review. The County Administrative Board accepted the detailed plan on the grounds that the County Administrative Board “no longer fears that there is a risk of significant damage to the national interest in communications or that the implementation of development according to the plan will be inappropriate with regard to human health and safety. The County Administrative Board therefore decides not to cancel the plan”.[21] The detailed plan was approved by the County Administrative Board on 27 September 2017.[21] In November 2017, the Land and Environmental Court rejected the appeals. In December 2017, the detailed plan became legally binding.[22]

Project

Construction

Construction began in 2018 but stalled in 2019, a delay that led to apartment buyers threatening to cancel their contracts with Serneke.[23] On 16 December 2019, Dagens Nyheter reported that Serneke "hopes to complete the deal around Karlatornet before the new year", after previously estimating that the deal could be presented in the third quarter. According to Serneke, the reason for the delay is the size of the deal, and that "it is a large international player that we are dealing with, and then you have to respect the processes, which are quite extensive".[24]

On 16 January 2020, Dagens Nyheter reported that Serneke intended to sell 80% of Karlatornet to Oaktree Capital Management. However, the deal was postponed due to the corona pandemic and construction was at a standstill until Serneke decided to pause construction.[25] However, construction of the rest of Karlastaden continued in the meantime. In connection with this, Johan Live, Head of Communications at Serneke, announced that Karlatornet would be ready for occupancy in the latter part of 2022.[26]

Construction of Karlatornet resumed on December 18, 2020, when the real estate company Balder was presented as a new co-financier, and occupancy was expected in 2023.[27]

On September 22, 2022, Karlatornet, with its 193 meters, became the tallest building in the Nordic region, thus taking over the lead from Turning Torso in Malmö.[28] During the summer of 2023, Karlatornet reached its full height, and on August 22 of that year the first households were given access to their apartments, and in 2024 the tower's exterior was completed.[29]

Karlatornet has 5 elevators engineered by Finnish elevator maker Kone.[30] Two of the elevators have a maximum speed of 6 m/s and the remaining three top out at 8 m/s. At the time of construction, these were the fastest elevators in Sweden.[31]

Cost

In an early stage the building was budgeted to cost about 4 billion Swedish kronor but, after many changes including increased height, final cost totalled 5,8 billion Swedish kronor or 525 million USD (currency exchange rate at that time).[32]

Hotel

Karlatornet houses a Strawberry hotel in an adjacent building with 300 guestrooms and multiple conference areas, restaurants, gyms and a spa. The total hotel area is 17,500 square metres (188,000 sq ft).[33]

Karlastaden

Karlatornet is one out of 9 buildings that will form Karlastaden (lit. Karla City).[34][35] Other buildings are:

  • Cassiopeja, 147 m (482 ft) 43 floors
  • Auriga, 125 m (410 ft) 36 floors[36]
  • Virgo, 27 floors
  • Capella, 17 floors
  • Lynx, 17 floors[37][38]
  • Aries, 12 floors
  • Callisto, 7 floors

Karlatornet with surrounding buildings is called Karlastaden (literal translation: Karlacity). The total area of Karlastaden is 270,000 square metres (2,900,000 sq ft). It houses apartments, schools, gyms, higher education institutions, hotels, offices, restaurants and healthcare clinics.[39]

Construction site chronology

  • March 2020
  • July 2021
  • November 2021
  • April 2022 seen from the Ramberget
  • February 2023
  • April 2023

See also

References

  1. ^ "Karlatornet". CVU Skyscraper Center. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  2. ^ "Karlatornets brokiga väg mot toppen". Mitt i Göteborg (in Swedish). 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  3. ^ "Nordens högsta byggnad ska förändra Göteborg". Läget by JMK, Stockholm university (in Swedish). 2023-08-22. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  4. ^ Nyheter, SVT (2017-06-16). "Här är svaren på era frågor om Karlatornet". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  5. ^ Nyheter, SVT (2020-01-16). "Karlatornets historia på 60 sekunder". SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  6. ^ "Karlatornet - The Skyscraper Center". Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat – CTBUH. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  7. ^ "Serneke bygger Nordens högsta byggnad". Byggföretagen (in Swedish). 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  8. ^ "All fakta om Karlatornet". Nyheter SVT (in Swedish). 2024-01-01. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  9. ^ Arvidsson, Elias (2015-09-24). "Jätteintresse för att bo i Karlatornet". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  10. ^ "Karlatornet växer med ett nytt våningsplan i veckan". Byggnyheter (in Swedish). 2022-01-28. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  11. ^ "Inflyttning i Karlatornet påbörjad". Fastighetsvärlden (in Swedish). 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  12. ^ Julia Kero (22 September 2022). "Nu är Karlatornet högst i Norden" (in Swedish). SVT Nyheter. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  13. ^ Jimmy Fredriksson (19 April 2010). "Byggmiljonären Blåvitts nya huvudsponsor". GT. "Serneke berättar om en annan plan. Han vill bygga tre hus varav ett 35-våningshus utanför på parkeringen på en tomt han äger."
  14. ^ "Karlavagnstornet – så in i Norden högt". fastighetstidningen.se (in Swedish). 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
  15. ^ Eddie Ekberg (2014-06-18). "Här är arkitektbyrån som får rita Nordens högsta hus". Fastighetssverige. Retrieved 2021-10-31.
  16. ^ a b "Karlastaden – Stadsutveckling Göteborg – Göteborgs Stad". stadsutveckling.goteborg.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2020-05-19. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  17. ^ "Karlastaden, Göteborg | Serneke Bostad". www.sernekebostad.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2022-09-26. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  18. ^ ""Kommunen bör godkänna Karlatornet"". World in Property. 2017-05-31. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  19. ^ "Kommunfullmäktige säger ja till Karlatornet". World in Property. 2017-06-16. Archived from the original on 2022-01-29. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  20. ^ Filip Kruse (2017-08-03). "Planerna på karlatornet överklagas". Göteborgs-Posten. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  21. ^ a b "Länsstyrelsen: Grönt ljus till Karlastaden". www.fastighetsnytt.se (in Swedish). 2017-09-28. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  22. ^ "Detaljplanen för Karlastaden har vunnit laga kraft". www.serneke.se (in Swedish). 2017-12-21. Archived from the original on 2017-12-24. Retrieved 2017-12-23.
  23. ^ Fredriksson, Per-Anders (2019-10-15). "Lägenhetsköpare vill häva avtal i Karlatornet" (in Swedish). Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  24. ^ "Karlatornet kan säljas innan nyår – "är förhoppningen"". Fastighetsvärlden. 2019-12-16. Archived from the original on 2019-12-18. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  25. ^ Jan Sprangers (2020-03-25). "Försäljningen av Karlatornet stoppas". SVT Väst. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  26. ^ "Serneke säljer Karlatornet – Kanadaägt jättebolag köper" (in Swedish). Dagens Nyheter. 2020-01-16. ISSN 1101-2447. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
  27. ^ Adersjö, Anna; Sprangers, Jan; Barragan, Oscar (2020-12-17). "Fastighetsbolaget Balder köper halva Karlatornet" (in Swedish). SVT Nyheter. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  28. ^ Julia Kero (22 September 2022). "Nu är Karlatornet högst i Norden" (in Swedish). SVT Nyheter. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  29. ^ "Inflyttning i Karlatornet påbörjad". Fastighetsvärlden (in Swedish). 2023-08-23. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  30. ^ "2018-01-30 KONE wins UltraRope order for Karlatornet, it became the tallest building in the Nordics (3)". KONE Corporation. 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  31. ^ "Så långt ser man från Karlatornet – Nordens högsta byggnad". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 2024-01-02. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  32. ^ Lars Näslund (2020-12-17). "Fastighetsmiljardären Erik Selin räddar Karlatornet – "En bra dag för Göteborg, helt klart"". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-02-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  33. ^ Kennedy, Marie (2017-12-15). "Stordalens hotellhyra i Karlatornet – 800 miljoner". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  34. ^ Lönnroth, Valdemar; Kennedy, Marie (2021-07-14). "Balder och Serneke bygger nya höghus i Karlastaden". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  35. ^ "Detaljplan för Karlavagnsplatsen (80 page pdf)" (PDF). Göteborgs Stad – Stadsbyggnadskontoret (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-12-23.
  36. ^ Engström, Fredrik (2022-04-29). "Bygger 125 metre högt i skuggan av Karlatornet". Fastighetsvärlden (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2025-05-07. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
  37. ^ "De ska utforma kvarteret Lynx i Karlastaden". Fastighetsnytt (in Swedish). 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  38. ^ "Kanozi ska utforma kvarteret Lynx i Karlastaden". Fastighetsvärlden (in Swedish). 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  39. ^ "Karlastaden's public property". Hemsö In English. 2024-01-09. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
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