Gróska, (e. Growth), a new house of ideas assigned to be a forum for innovation and university collaboration with industry, will rise on University campus presently as a part of UI's Science Park. Stefanía G. Halldórsdóttir General Manager at CCP in Iceland, Dagur B. Eggertsson, Mayor of Reykjavík and Jón Atli Benediktsson, Rector of the University of Iceland, broke ground for the new building today at a festive ceremony.
The international interactive entertainment company CCP will move their offices from Grandagarður to the new building at Bjargargata 1, located beside deCode. This development is in accordance with the agreement CCP made with the UI Science Park in the summer of 2015. The move will create further possibilities in collaboration between CCP and the university community in the fields of technical development, research and innovation.
The new building will be 17.500 square meters, on four floors, and the plan is to lease office spaces to dynamic companies of various sizes to develop their ideas. The ground floor will house various services, shops and a café, and feature a conference hall in the middle of the building. The 2nd floor is divided into several small spaces, and CCP will be on the third floor, and finally there will be several larger spaces on the top floor. The layout of the building is designed to facilitate interaction between those who work there, to communicate and share ideas. Andrúm Architects and dkpitt architects designed the building. Emphasis will be placed on pedestrians and cyclists around this environmentally friendly innovation centre in the heart of the University Campus.
Construction commences in a few days and will be completed at the end of 2018 according to the project schedule.
Further information on the building in Icelandic is on its website www.groska.is.