Campus Ås – designing a knowledge hub

The Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, and a state biomedical research facility gather under one roof known as Campus Ås.

To provide top-notch facilities like animal operating theatres and research laboratories for Norway’s largest university building, a wide-range of logistics were required. But with open sunlit courtyards, the building offers calm and casual meeting places for researchers, students, and guests.

This project reflects a ten-year collaborative design dialogue. In close consultation with Campus Ås’ users, an international advisory panel, and 120 specialised engineers, Ramboll collaboratively shaped the facilities to support an ambitious confluence of academics and specialised research.

Campus Ås balances technical demands with sustainable measures. The facility’s anticipated energy consumption is 25 – 50% lower than the Norwegian TEK10 sustainable construction standards.

Balancing spaces and uses for science and society

The project’s design seamlessly integrates spaces that are large and small, hazardous and safe, clinical and human, isolated and connected. Despite encompassing more than 63,000 square metres, the distribution of smaller modules breaks down the scale and brings intimacy to occupants across eight wings and four stories.

The building’s highly sensitive and hazardous spaces, such as infectious disease laboratories and surgical suites, are protected in the centre by a permeable barrier. This means, rather than put the entire facility on perpetual lockdown in emergency instances, the smaller building modules allow particular areas to be safely locked down as needed. Visitors can venture almost all the way into the building’s heart without experiencing the risk to the campus’ function.