Kista Science Tower, Modern skyscraper in Kista, Sweden
Kista Science Tower is a 32-storey, 124-metre office tower in Kista, north-west Stockholm, designed by White arkitekter and completed in 2003. Its facade is a dense grid of pale blue-green glass panes in a grey metal frame, with horizontal bands at each floor and vertical mullions between the windows. A grey concrete block, the top of the lift shaft, caps the building.
White arkitekter won the 1998 competition to design the tower; NCC began construction in summer 2000 and completed it in late 2002. It was Sweden's tallest skyscraper until Turning Torso in Malmö surpassed it in 2005. Vasakronan has owned the property since August 2004.
The tower stands in Kista, Stockholm's science and IT district, next to the Kista Galleria shopping complex and the Kista metro station. Its tenants are technology and IT companies, and the building's name links it to the surrounding science park. The complex it belongs to comprises six buildings of different heights and facades, all sharing a triangular plan and double-glazed transparent walls.
The tower stands beside Kista Galleria shopping centre and Kista metro station, so it is reached on foot from the station. Three of its 33 floors lie below the main entrance level and are used mainly for parking. The lifts run at 5 to 6 metres per second, among the fastest in Sweden.
The grey concrete block on the roof is the top of the lift shaft, left in place when planned extra floors were cancelled during the early 2000s recession. It also houses the electronics for the antenna that brings the tower's height to 156 metres.
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