Almost time to move in to the newly renovated M Building

Architect Klas Anshelm’s red brick buildings have been home to LTH’s students since the mid-1960s. A renovation of the buildings is underway, to meet new demands for learning environments and accessibility. One building that is nearing the end of the renovation phase is the M Building. Over 20,000 square metres have been examined, renewed and adapted to better suit students, teaching staff and researchers.

One of those representing LTH’s perspective in the building project is Andreas Svensson, property controller at LTH. He gives LUM a guided tour.

The University’s largest LED screen

‘M’ stands for Mechanical Engineering, and as our tour proceeds there are lots of nods to mechanics and technology. Ångpannehallen (Steam Boiler Hall) sounds like a space full of water in its gaseous state, but it is in fact the name of a digitally advanced teaching space in which the physical design of the room is intended to be part of the learning and teaching – what is known as an ‘active learning classroom’.

Another high-tech hall is the Teknodrom. Seen from the outside of M Building, it looks like an enormous copper cistern. The space is spherical, with tables that look like they make up a fan. On the floor by the exterior wall, there is a ‘cat flap’ that makes it possible to hook up technology straight from the outside of the building for large events, and one half of the circular room is covered with a curved LED screen.

“It might be the University’s largest LED screen, and you can see it from wherever you are sitting in the room,” says Andreas Svensson.

Retain as much as possible of Anshelm’s architectonic thinking

Natural light enters at the very top, by the ceiling. And, just as in Klas Anshelm’s original architecture, the glass section is covered with flexible vertical blackout blinds.

“Throughout the project, we have attempted to retain as much as possible of Anshelm’s architectonic thinking, and to reuse whatever can be refreshed and fixed up,” says Andreas Svensson.

New life to old furniture

Re-use permeates the whole project, and at certain points the tour takes on the feel of time travel to the 1960s. Classic 60s style furniture has been refreshed – such as the original chairs that have been sanded, varnished and re-upholstered. Other objects, which had spent the past few decades in a waning existence in the building’s basement, have been given new life.

“The dome-shaped glass lanterns that formed part of the original decor of the LTH buildings have been dusted off and now grace the ground floor once again,” says Andreas Svensson.

It is almost time to move back in to the M Building. This will see students returning home, after temporary spells in other LTH buildings.

“The hope is that the building’s renewal will lead to more informal meetings between all those who spend time in the M Building,” says Andreas Svensson.

The article is published in LUM 2/2023