Clarion Hotel Sign at Norra Bantorget

Skanska has built Stockholm’s largest hotel, Clarion Hotel Sign, totaling 29,000 square meters. The hotel has eleven floors and holds 558 rooms.

Skanska was turnkey contractor for the project and was hence responsible for planning, materials, the work itself and for subcontractors. As a result Skanska gained the opportunity to come up with financially and environmentally beneficial solutions. Good solutions for working environment and for time frames were also found.

The production was carried out in a very limited workspace, and surrounding traffic and workplaces were constantly taken into consideration since everything had to run as smoothly as possible during the whole construction.

Logistical challenges were also encountered since several other office and residential construction projects ran simultaneously in the area. Skanska’s Project Engineer for this project, Magnus Hellsten, explains that the adjacent railway was used for transportation of materials:

- One example is the solution we found together with Green Cargo and the Swedish Rail Administration, which enabled us to use the closeness of the work site to the railway yard. Rather than being transported by trucks, the prefabricated frameworks came with trains straight from Slovakia. We could actually lift the materials straight from the train and into the construction site, a superb solution both logistically and environmentally.

The hotel opened in February 2008, two years after the construction first started. It was drawn by famous Swedish architect Gert Wingårdh and consists of four connected buildings and two inner courtyards.

The hotel also has conference facilities for 1,220 participants and a banquet room for 700 persons. The restaurant Aquavit has opened its first restaurant outside the US here, and SelmaSpa+ has opened its first city spa.

Download Sustainability case studies under Downloads and links

Contacts

Stefan Hedenström

Sweden +46 70 511 10 30

E-mail Stefan Hedenström»

View on map

Brief facts

Service
Construction
Market segment
Hotels
Contract value
SEK 500.0 M
Start
2005
Completion
2008
Country
Sweden
City
Stockholm
Address
Östra Järnvägsgatan 35

Constructing the project

The process of developing a product that we later produced was demanding both for the customer and for us at Skanska. Meeting the overall requirements with respect to time, cost, quality, esthetics and environmental requirements was a real challenge for the group that worked with development of the project.

The unique curtain wall solution (complete without window ledges or other fittings) was developed in close cooperation with a selected subcontractor. In this project, we have worked with a retained form solution in the frame, which was built on site. Great care was devoted to optimizing the frame. Within the project, among sub-contractors and consultants, we have worked hard to find the best combination of prefabricated elements and traditional onsite casting for easy construction.

Proximity to the main railway tracks and substantial logistics challenges (city center location) meant that considerable time had to be devoted to planning and risk management. The project was conducted in a period of economic growth and overheated market conditions that meant that great care had to be exercised in purchasing. Our framework agreements were a great help to us in this work.

As in all major projects, there were many challenges. We at Skanska met these challenges through commitment and dialogue, both internally and with external parties.

The project in figures

Area: 29 000 m2
11 stories
558 rooms
11 000 m3 of concrete

Client

Arthur Buckhardt

“The environmental thinking in the construction of the hotel really inspired us to continue in this spirit during its operation – we are now being certified according to ISO 14001,” says Tobias Ekman, CEO of Clarion Hotel Sign.

Tobias Ekman

Environment

The decision to use rail transport in cooperation with Green Cargo and the Swedish Rail Administration instead of traditional road transport for VST's framing system from Slovakia proved to be a brilliant solution. Skanska reduced carbon dioxide emissions corresponding to 30 trips around the world by truck and financial savings corresponding to more than 10 percent of the transport cost.

Benefits for the community

Clarion Sign is part of a major urban renewal effort for Norra Bantorget that also includes new housing, stores, offices, public squares and park areas. In addition, the hotel creates 160 new full-time jobs.