In 2000 Jurian van Meel, author of The European Office: Office Design and National Context, wrote that the former SAS head office "is probably Sweden's best known 'groundscraper'"; Meel stated that Sweden's groundscrapers are more well known compared to high-rise buildings, which according to Meel are not common in Sweden.[8]
The building also houses offices of E. Merck AB, the Swedish representation of Merck KGaA Germany.[9] CSC Sverige AB, a subsidiary of Computer Sciences Corporation, also has its offices in the building.[10][11]
History
The head office was built from 1985 through 1987 by the Norwegian architect Niels Torp. SAS intended to build its head office in the lake Brunnsviken area, near an exit to Stockholm Arlanda Airport. The plans caused controversy since the municipal and regional planners wanted the area to be used for recreation purposes. The Swedish government was about to sell land in the Brunnsviken area, and was interested in SAS having its main office in the area of Stockholm. So SAS took a plot of land, while the beaches and scenic elements of the area were retained. In 1984 SAS held a competition amongst nine architects to determine who would get to design the head office. Niels Torp won the competition and a 55,000-square-metre (590,000 sq ft) complex was built.[12] When the building opened, there were 2,000 employees.[4]
Around 2010, SAS had reduced its space in the building due to reductions in staffing. Therefore, portions of the building were leased to other companies. Around 2010 the building owner, Nordisk Renting AB, decided to sell it to Norwegian KLP for 1.5 billion Swedish kronor. In 2010 SAS announced that it would relocate its head office to Stockholm-Arlanda Airport, with the move scheduled for the northern hemisphere autumn of that year.[4]
In 2013 SAS announced that it once again would relocate to Frösundavik,[13] partly because it was hard to find another user of the large custom made office building.
Features
The building has seven separate building blocks with a street, covered by a glass roof, connecting the corridors. The street is lined with shops and cafes.[8] Jeremy Myerson, author of "After modernism: the contemporary office environment" said that the SAS building, which opened in January 1988, "refashioned entirely the traditional notion of office life by creating a giant complex with shops, restaurants, and coffee bars lining a solar-heated internal 'main street'" running through the facility's spine.[14]Jan Carlzon, former CEO, explained that the concept was to promote SAS senior managers promenading through the corridor and meeting staff members informally.[14] Myerson added that the building "moved as far away from Taylorism in aesthetic and organisational terms as one could get."[14]
The Frösundavik Aquifer is the building's source for cool groundwater used in summer months and warm groundwater in winter months.[15]
^Zimmermann, Mark and Johnny Andersson (editors). Low Energy Cooling Case Study Buildings. International Energy Agency Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme, 1 December 1998. p. 4/159. Retrieved on August 5, 2014. "16 Aquifer Cooling and Heating
The SAS Frösundavik Office Building, Stockholm, Sweden"
^ ab"SAS head office in Sweden." Scandinavian Airlines. Retrieved on 8 June 2009. "Mailling address SAS Head Office Frösundaviks Allé 1 SE-195 87 Stockholm "
^"SAS’ Annual Report 2013/2014." Scandinavian Airlines. January 20, 2015. Retrieved on July 24, 2015. " The annual general meeting in SAS AB will take place on 19 February 2015 at 3.00pm at SAS head office, Frösundaviks allé 1, Solna." Swedish: "SAS årsredovisning 2013/2014." - "SAS huvudkontor, Frösundaviks, alle 1, Solna."
^"SAS Head Office in Sweden." Scandinavian Airlines. Retrieved on 27 January 2012. "SAS Head Office Stockholm-Arlanda Kabinvägen 5 SE-195 87 Stockholm"
^ abcMyserson, Jeremy. "After modernism: the contemporary office environment" (Chapter 10). In: McKellar, Susie and Penny Sparke (editors). Interior Design and Identity. Manchester University Press, 2004. Cited: 199 (start page of the chapter is 191). Retrieved from Google Books on 12 February 2010. ISBN0-7190-6729-4, ISBN978-0-7190-6729-7.