A new urban city centre in Gothenburg, Sweden is in development with the aim of accelerating health innovation.

Next Step Group and Vectura Fastigheter joined forces to create GoCo Health Innovation City, with over US$400 million being invested in the 200,000sq m project.

The architects for the development are Semrén + Måsson.

When complete it will create a new life science district and urban city centre with a health and wellness focus, attracting researchers, entrepreneurs and talent from around the world to accelerate health innovation within an inspiring environment.

GoCo Health Innovation City is currently in the construction phase and it is expected that 350 life science companies will eventually be based there, creating 7,000 new jobs. Medical solutions company, Mölnlycke HealthCare, is relocating its headquarters there this year in a new building which will accommodate 800 employees.

The 21,000sq m signature building, GoCo House, opened in February 2023, a multi-tenant building designed for collaboration and spontaneous meetings, with lots of social areas across two floors.

The first residential neighbourhood will be fully constructed by 2025: 450 apartments are being built with sustainable materials to height variations that create optimal conditions for sedum roofs and solar panels. Further residential development is planned.

Service industries are also moving in, with health clubs, restaurants and retail springing up.

The development was conceived when pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca, was selling land connected to its Gothenburg campus and made it a condition of sale that the new owner would add value to the existing health ecosystem within the region.

Health campuses and healthy cities are a growing trend globally, with Florida's Lake Nona already a mature development, established 20 years ago as a healthy live/work community.

The King of Bhutan has also recently announced plans for a Mindfulness City, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, with the development likely to be the same size as Hong Kong and constructed on the Bhutan/India border. Read more in HCM's sister magazine, Spa Business here.