Published: 31 March 2025
Text: Anne-Marie Korseberg Stokke
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CEO Bjørn Erik Reinseth sees the planned expansion as a natural continuation of Oslo Science Park’s success story.
“Our goal is to be a place where knowledge-intensive businesses can grow alongside academia and research environments. This expansion will provide us with more space and improved facilities to fulfill our purpose – value creation through growth companies and research commercialization,” says Reinseth.
With nearly 60,000 m², Oslo Science Park is already the largest provider of rental spaces and facilities for research, business, and entrepreneurship in the area stretching from the University of Oslo at Blindern, through the research institutions in Gaustadbekkdalen, to Rikshospitalet – also known as Oslo Science City. The expansion will create new laboratories, flexible office solutions, and meeting spaces, further strengthening the park as an attractive choice for companies, entrepreneurs, and researchers nationwide.
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The preliminary project plans, developed by the architectural firm Niels Torp+, are based on an already approved plan to add extra floors to three existing buildings, as well as constructing a new building.
“We want to minimize disruption for our tenants, so we are applying to consolidate the approved expansion into a single building. The process for this has now started in collaboration with Oslo’s Planning and Building Agency,” says Reinseth.
The new expansion will take the form of a 19-story high-rise above the building to the right of the main entrance (Building C). According to the architects, this will not increase the park’s footprint or require the demolition of existing buildings.
The expansion of Oslo Science Park is not only crucial for the businesses establishing themselves there but also for Oslo’s position as a globally competitive city for knowledge and innovation. Reinseth believes that a larger and more modern innovation environment will attract both national and international players.
“We want to make Oslo an even stronger hub for research and technology development. By creating an attractive space for collaboration, we can attract both talent and investment that will drive Norwegian innovation forward,” he says.
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Architect Niels Torp's plan for Oslo Science Park was to create a building for "spontaneous communication," where researchers would be encouraged to leave their offices. It was designed to be easily dismantled again—and it might even turn out to be ugly.
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"Five days a week in the office, please." That was the message the tech-giant Amazon recently sent to its corporate employees. Could it be that the post-pandemic rush of freedom has subsided, and we are slowly but surely realizing that a good work environment cannot be sent via email?
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Over 3,000 people from academia, research and business have their daily workplace in Oslo Science Park, midway between Gaustad and Blindern in Oslo. Our tenants form a unique ecosystem for innovation, value creation and commercialization of research.
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The initiative to replace the grass lawns surrounding Oslo Science Park with flower meadows started in the summer of 2023. This will benefit the area's biological diversity and provide an insect sanctuary. Now, the children at Forskningsparken Montessori kindergarten are working on their own accommodation for small critters.
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