Uppsala City Hall Honored as Sweden’s Building of the Year 2022

Before the transformation, Uppsala’s public administration was spread across the city. With the addition of 13,500m2 and a comprehensive transformation of the existing building from 1957, all 1,800 employees now work under the same roof. A 1,500m2 courtyard at the building’s heart provides a welcoming, daylit public space in which citizens and employees alike can gather and meet.

"A town hall is a physical manifestation of our democracy in the sense that it links together electives with the community. To reflect on this and at the same time build upon the original vision of the town hall, we have designed a town hall where citizens are invited right into the heart of the building," says Per Ebbe Hansson, Lead Design Architect at Henning Larsen.

Not only was the building praised for its architectural vision and the strategies implemented to lower the building’s carbon footprint, in their report the jury also acknowledged the complexity of the project and highlighted the collaboration it has required to reach its ambitions.

“The winner of Building of the Year 2022 is a large and challenging project with many stakeholders. Everyone involved has had the project's best in focus and has worked closely together while not being afraid to try out new solutions in tandem with existing technology. The project proves that it is indeed possible to start with what we already have and change the terms of its use. The 60-year-old building is very close to being net-zero.”

Certified BREEAM Excellent, the project consists of a transformation totaling 13,000m2 and an addition of 13,500m2 new construction.

Uppsala City Hall was successfully done in collaboration with Uppsala Municipality, PEAB, Thyrens, SLA, Swerock and Lambertsson.