MAX IV is the next-generation synchrotron radiation facility in Lund, Sweden. It is the most powerful of its kind in the world with three accelerators. The largest of the storage rings has a circumference of 528 metres. Max IV is the biggest investment in a research instrument ever made in Sweden, and is valued at around 640 million euros. Construction work started in June 2010 and the inauguration of the building took place in summer 2016.

Ruukki delivered cladding for the five-storey office building in this complex. The cladding was realised using Ruukki Lamella Straight 100 white aluminium lamellas.

The communications director for the MAX IV laboratory, Tutti Johansson Falk, says that many visitors to the building comment on its appearance.

“They think the building is very beautiful and unusual for a research centre, and that it actually looks like a spaceship that has landed on the muddy fields of Lund. It looks very futuristic. And that's good, since our research is about the future, about how we will be able to create products and processes that can cope with the global challenges in the field of health, food, energy, transport and the environment,” says Johansson Falk.

The uniqueness of Max IV has also been recognised in international competitions. It won first prize in the Best Futura Project category at MIPIM, an international property event in Cannes, France, in 2014. The Swedish Building Council selected MAX IV as the best BREEAM-level construction project and the best environment construction project (Miljöbyggnad projekt) in 2015.

Ruukki’s delivery

Cladding Lamella Straight 100 in 1.5 mm aluminium with Hiarc cover in White RAL 9003

MAX IV LAB

• Cost: approximately EUR 640 million
• Ground broken: 22 November 2010
• Inaugurated: 21 June 2016
• Around 200 people currently work at MAX IV
• Location: Lund, Sweden
• Client/owner: Fastighets AB ML 4

Partners

• Structural engineer: Tyrens engineers
• Architectural designer: Snøhetta, Oslo
• Constructor: Peab AB