The administration building in central Luleå has already lived several lives. When the building was constructed in 1962, it was the city’s hospital. In the 2000s it was converted into office premises. Now the building faces its third major transformation into Kungsfågelns Gymnasium, a school for approximately 650 students offering everything from a sports upper secondary program to adapted education.
From the very beginning, there was an ambition to make the project as sustainable as possible. The architecture firm Detail Group proposed to Luleå municipality that reuse be made a central part of the renovation, and the municipality bit.
1. On-site inventory. Three team members from Detail Group methodically went through the building. Room by room they inventoried building parts such as doors, glazed partitions, interior walls, and fixtures. Photos of individual items became very important during the process — it was helpful to return to Palats and, via the floor plan, find photos of exactly the door / glazed partition / item one wanted to see. It was also valuable to note various properties like acoustic rating and fire rating for each door. For the glazed partitions, glass gauges were used to measure the thickness of the glass and the spacing between the glass layers. The results were recorded in Palats to assess sound reduction.
2. Classification and decision-making. Later in the design phase, when we had to choose which items we wanted to reuse, the “send” parameter became important and we also made extensive use of our own tags and “next step” notes so we could easily quantify how many items would be reused. For each product, it was decided whether it could be reused in its original place, reused elsewhere in the project, or disposed of.
3. Collaboration and ongoing updates in Palats. All information was continuously kept up to date in Palats. That made things easier for partners, too. For example, the hardware consultant could log into Palats and immediately see photos of existing doors, which hardware they had, and plan the right solution for the next use—say in a classroom where special requirements apply.
4. Complete overview and analysis. The result became a clear map of all the material in the building: how much can be reused, where it will be used, and what impact it yields — both in terms of climate and economics.
Glazed partitions and interior walls account for the largest share of reusable material in the project, but doors and WC ceramics also made substantial contributions. Even areas with stricter requirements, such as hygiene and functionality, could be woven into the reuse strategy. At the time of writing, PEAB is carrying out the deconstruction, and we look forward to following up when the project is completed to see the final outcome.”
PEAB has now begun the dismantling phase. During dismantling, materials are removed carefully to enable reuse. Interim storage takes place within the building, in a large basement level with tunnels, where the building components are placed. A drawing was prepared during the design phase marking suitable spaces for interim storage — this served as a concrete guideline for the contractor.
Even the suppliers play a role in the reuse process. By contributing best practices for how the panels should be dismantled and stored for optimal quality, they help ensure standard and function. For example, they looked at how to loosen them gently, which padding or packaging protects them, how they should be stacked, and how the storage spaces should be designed.
This phase is critical to ensure that all the climate and cost savings identified during the inventory can actually be realized. We look forward to revisiting the project once it’s finished, when students and teachers can start using their new school.
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