Karolinska Institute is one of Sweden’s largest centres for training and research, accounting for 30 percent of the medical training and 40 percent of the medical academic research conducted nationwide.

According to the 2008 Academic Ranking of World Universities, the institute is ranked as the 51st best research university in the world, 11th in Europe and 1st in Sweden. It is ranked 18th in the world in the field of Life and Agricultural Sciences and 9th in Clinical Medicine and Pharmacy. (Source: Wikipedia)

Before the current redevelopment began, the waterside area was known as Södra Hammarbyhamnen (roughly South Hammarby Port), a mainly industrial zone which now houses a library and offices.

New plans for most of the Södermalm area Norra Hammarbyhamnen in the early 1990s opened the door for a redevelopment of the entire area around the water expanse Hammarby Sjö. Although Hammarby Sjöstad is located outside the inner-city Stockholm, the design is intentionally urban rather than suburban, with boulevards, clearly defined and architecturally varied city blocks, and commercial spaces in the ground floor of the buildings.