If you were to visit the Lindholmen campus at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden you’d come across an unconventional building. Not only is it strikingly colourful, it is an architecturally forward-thinking structure. Designed by Windgårdh arkitektkontor, the building has been given the nickname “Kuggen" (Swedish for cogwheel) due to its cog-like exterior profile. The architects clad the exterior of Kuggen with glazed terracotta panels in a variety of shades of red. The palette references the historic red colours common to Gothenburg’s harbour and wharfs. A smaller number of panels appear in two shades of red’s complementary colour – green.
The building houses a series of smaller meeting spaces that encourage interaction between students and teams from the business community. The goal is to promote discussions around their common pursuit of expanding research in the areas of data communications, logistics and media design. Kuggen has committed itself to green technology through the incorporation of adaptive ventilation, adaptive lighting and interactive heating and cooling systems. Triangular-shaped windows enable sunlight to reach deep into the core of the building and a moveable screen on the top floor tracks the sun and provides shade where necessary. This state-of-the-art facility is not only eye-catching, it is exceptionally energy efficient.