Even though the infra culvert that Uponor Infra has prepared for Skåne University Hospital in Malmö is almost 10 meters long, the benefits are many for the construction project. The hospital area that the Region of Skåne, together with PEAB and Forsen, is building includes a service building, a care building and a mortuary. At the beginning of 2022, the new mortuary will be ready and provide space for approximately 220 mortuaries, sweeping rooms for funeral contractors and religion-neutral display rooms for relatives. The culvert system from Uponor Infra is part of the underground infrastructure for, among other things, district heating, district cooling, sprinklers, electricity and telecommunications between the mortuary, the service building and the care building.

Connection culvert as a good role model

- We saw the opportunity to connect the hospital buildings with the culvert. I definitely believe that this will be a good example and role model for future construction projects with similar challenges, says Jimmy Ohlsson, responsible sales representative at Project Services at Uponor Infra.

After having the first meetings about the project as early as 2019, the infra culvert was installed on site by PEAB at the end of 2020. It became clear that the culvert solution was a fast and cost-effective construction. Welding and placement took place in one day; the backfilling then took three to four days. Even from a sustainability perspective, the culvert proved to be an affordable solution. All material used for the culvert is 100 percent recyclable and the construction itself causes significantly less CO₂ emissions, instead of a construction where, for example, concrete needs to be cast.

Another advantage in the hospital environment is that the culvert, after a quick installation, will in the end ensure a disturbance-free environment. When cables need to be replaced or repaired, this can be done in the culvert itself, without the need for excavation or construction efforts. In this way, a culvert solution also reduces work risks during construction, installation and repair. The protection that the culvert gives the wires extends their service life considerably.

- It may have taken some time until the construction market has seen the potential, but today more and more players are looking at culverts as a sustainable solution. We are in meetings with the city of Malmö about a culvert solution to find a good solution for a new development area, Jimmy Ohlsson concludes.