Building for a greener campus

The campus area around the Radium Hospital, part of Oslo University Hospital, is expanding. By 2030, there will be 50 000 additional sqm of state-of-the-art laboratories, complementary hospital services, possibly a central biobank, sufficient offices, and open areas for the public, such as shops, restaurants, cafes, and roof terraces.

These new buildings are being planned with the environment in mind – both during the construction process and when they will be used.

“We are working on a centralised waste system that possibly has vacuum shafts and sorting facilities in the basement. Our goal is to make everything easy to handle," said Thomas London, CEO of Oslo Science Hub.

Oslo Science Hub aims to build a vital and inclusive environment where researchers, entrepreneurs, and companies from across the Radium Hospital Campus can meet and collaborate to contribute to the development of better cancer treatments.

This is Oslo Science Hub.

A global attitude

The environmental footprint of the daily business from future tenants of Oslo Science Hub is important to London. He is already mapping out how it will affect the people working there and their surroundings.

There is a global attitude from pharma companies that new buildings must be classified according to high environmental standards. This affects many details in new buildings tailor-made for the health industry, including the choice of materials and waste management through the building period, as well as permanent fixtures like sun panels and power infrastructure. For instance, specific laboratories will be supplied with locally produced sun power in certain periods of the day, when there is a high demand for electricity in the labs.

A final, visible green touch is the green roof. This is planned to improve both CO₂ levels and the oxygen we breathe, as well as the public stormwater drainage system. Rainwater is slowed down by a green roof. This means that wastewater treatment plants don’t have to operate as intensively, reducing energy consumption.

Aiming for greener labs

Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator has 18 laboratories and is operating with a green mindset. For instance, biological waste is handled locally in the incubator, and dangerous chemicals are kept at a minimum.

Have a look at the incubator labs.

In 2025, the incubator aims for even greener labs with the opening of the new Norwegian Infrastructure for Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP Norway). This centre will be in the new John Ugelstad building, currently under construction, with a pre-GMP lab.

This is the John Ugelstad building.

The incubator's current labs are certified as BSL2 by the Norwegian Directorate of Health. The incubator is working to become even more environmentally friendly.

"I find that the researchers here are conscious of chemical use and recycling. They are concerned with environmental aspects, such as the carbon footprint," said Janne Nestvold, COO of Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator, and responsible for the labs provided by the incubator.

Greener labs, however, require more elaborate infrastructures, and this is not cheap. Oslo Cancer Cluster voiced concerns about the lack of funding opportunities for laboratories in political input to the government earlier this year, and for Nestvold, this is an important issue.

"Funding for green infrastructure in laboratories is lacking. There are few grant opportunities available to improve researchers' physical work environment and reduce the carbon footprint," said Janne Nestvold, and added:

"Infrastructure is essential for the green transition because production is a major component of any industry, including green industries. If you’re going to build cars, you need a workshop; if you’re going to build a health sector, you need laboratories. And we need public funding for this."