Ambition for cross-sectoral transformation
Something massive is happening at Construction City, where AF Gruppen and Betonmast are in the role of main contractors. The giant project ̶ one of the largest in Norway at the moment ̶ embodies the vision and appetite for transformation shared across the country’s building, construction and property sectors. Backed by collaborative business and research cluster that spans these sectors, the Construction City project is central pillar of a national push in Norway to transform them, making them more dynamic, efficient, and “green”.
Following completion of the project, many firms from the Construction City Cluster will move their offices into the buildings there. The design of the project is aimed at facilitating better cross-sector collaboration, as well as the development of specialist expertise.
Impressive view on-site
It’s truly a privilege for an investor to get the hands-on perspective of a site visit, to better understand the products and services of current or potentially future portfolio companies. The main target of a site visit is three-fold:
- to learn more about the specifications of the core value creation of the firm
- to see first-hand how the actual construction is managed
- to see how the corporate culture works on the ground
The new buildings are built to modern and cutting-edge standards, including the highest energy label “A” and an environmental building certification at the higher end of the scale with BREEAM Excellent.
A well-managed construction site should be tidy, and as some of the photos from the visit show, this was the case for Construction City. The absence of unnecessary materials signals that the logistics systems were working well, and in alignment with the project’s “zero accidents” target which was well communicated around the site. Viewed from the environmental perspective, the project’s minimal waste, re-use and recycling of materials was impressive.
Construction City is a fascinating case of how urban development takes place in practice. It takes great care for urban planning before the project begins, flawless logistics, interdisciplinary collaboration, tedious focus on health, safety and environment in the construction phase.