Färgskrapan is a 15-storey office building in Sweden with a facade made of glass structures of 12 different colours. The idea of sustainability is at the core of the building, which is why each component of the building aims to reduce the ecological footprint in the future.

This is one of the UPB frame and facade complex solutions – a three construction (3C) project that combines the design and installation of glass, metal and concrete structures. Thanks to the 3C method, the UPB Färgskrapan project was implemented in 1.5 years.

By working in parallel and co-operating, the concrete structure designing was done in 14 months, manufacturing in 8 months, and structures of the building were assembled in 8.5 months. The total amount of reinforced concrete structures is 760.5 tonnes of metal and 4090 m³ of concrete.

The UPB specialists completed the glass designing process in 7.5 months, manufacturing in 4 months and assembly of the glass facade in 10 months. The total amount of glass structures is 7557 m².

The biggest challenge was in the planning of logistics and delivery of parts, since each element of the facade has its own ID number and they can be assembled as a puzzle. Due to the lack of space, the elements could not be stored within the object; therefore, deliveries had to be planned precisely to ensure that the works do not stop.

The glass selection and painting process has to be mentioned as another creative challenge. In order to find the right colour tones for the glass facade of the building, the UPB team, alongside the architects and the client, went to Poland to a paint manufacturer. When the right colours were found, an experimental glass painting process followed, which involved melting the combined pigment mixture onto the glass. Dozens of test samples were made together with the Polish manufacturer, from which we selected the ones that the architect liked.