The project began in autumn 2022 with the demolition of the old Gadolinia property. The demolition permit applied to the six-story laboratory building. The café section of Gadolinia and the terrace outside were preserved. The former café area has been incorporated into the new building and continues to operate as a café and lunch restaurant.

The 10,200-square-meter building is part of the Stjärnan block. The block includes, in addition to the new building, Åbo Akademi’s library Boktornet on Cathedral Street 2–4 and the School of Business on Henriksgatan 7. The block name Stjärnan originates from Carl Ludvig Engel’s city plan for Turku, drawn up after the Turku Fire of 1827.