Place: Akalla, Stockholm
Year: 2015

The meeting between property owners with vacant office space and some ambitious local organizations in Akalla forms the base for  interesting result;a platform for learning, meeting places and activities that promote the local area. The aim has been to test a a model that could be applied in other places.

In Stockholm, there are over one million square meters of empty office space. At the same time, many associations, organizations and several smaller entrepreneurs are in desperate need of just that: spaces, networks, meetings with others - and that extra little assistance to start or scale up an interesting idea. Spridd in collaboration with Färgfabriken and the real estate company Brostaden has developed a model for this.

The pilot project: The pilot project is called Experiment Akalla pilot. In a large office space on the ground floor of an office building at Finlandsgatan in Akalla, architect firm Spridd, real estate company Brostaden, Fryshuset, Rinkeby television, social entrepreneurs Refo, Coompanion and Young Innovation Hub have joined forces to create an unique space.

Method: Unispace can be a unique form of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) that creates a platform for local associations and small entrepreneurs and establish a connection to the local business community. The method gives inexpensive access to good facilitiesbeeig charged only the variable costs such as electricity and water. The property ownersupports astronger local community in return with premises full of life. No property owners want to have empty spaces since an office space next to empty spaces are difficult to let out. There is a need for people, action and liveliness. Everyone benefits from more activity. A great potential lies in the collaboration between different organisations adding new input to existing business.

Unispace is a model that allows associations and entrepreneurs to get a space and create a place of significance.

The pilot project and the method has been presented at the exhibition Experiment Stockholm Färgfabriken from the 23rd of September to the 29th of November 2015.