Living in Lund: Sparta

N.B: This entry is a part of a series of student accommodation reviews directed at new students looking for apartments in Lund. Lund(on) Times is not affiliated with AF Bostäder, LU Accommodation or any other apartment rental service. More visual material may be added in the future. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Pros	Cons
+ Close to campus (engineering and economics), supermarket, nations	- Far from town center (location on )
+ Spaces open up quickly, affordable (~3,000 SEK per month)	- Crowded
+ Quiet and peaceful, yet active student life	- Ugly exterior, small green areas
+ Own bathroom and shower (21m² rooms)	- Shared kitchen

Click here for AFB's information on Sparta.

Lund's student corridors come in many shapes and sizes. Sparta is definitely one that stands out in the lot though. Not due to exciting contemporary architecture, but more rather the Soviet style nuclear bunker feel that is apparent in the entire structure. Sparta is connected to a hotel and conference center, with an exceptionally cheap grocery store and gym on the property too. So with the amount of ugly and convenience the first impression is around +/-0 for anyone. We are going to need two informed opinions again to help get through this one.

Alfonso moved into Sparta at the beginning of the spring semester, about four months after [name omitted].

Figure 36. Alfonso's short term apartment is furnished with AFB's standard furniture offering.

"When the AFB queue opened, I woke up early to sign up, so I got a good queue place," [name withheld] says. after explaining how her non-AFB apartment hunt had gone bad fast. "I wanted my own bathroom, apart from that I didn’t mind too much. I got a place quickly. Sparta was something I was really happy with in terms of the location and price. The room is spacious and I had furniture here to begin with. Everything was clean too. I was a bit unsure, about the kitchen and how its gonna be with sharing people. I lived in an exchange residence before, and the kitchen was so bad I didn’t use it at all. But here everything turned out so nice. The kitchen is spacious and the living room is functional.”

Figure 37. Sparta might look cramped on the outside, but probably features the most storage space out of all the corridors

 “My process started before I came to Sweden," Alfonso recalls. After going through the previous semester without a place in town, he was not too picky when options opened up. "I was on the list for a long time. My criteria was just the price, I didn’t mind about the house or the distances. Once I got to Lund, I figured it wouldn’t matter. I was pleasantly surprised about the space and furniture. Lots of closet space too, that is important. I have my own bathroom too, that is a large plus. In terms of the common rooms, the kitchen is in great state.”

The overall structure of Sparta is less open than other AFB complexes. All of Sparta is one building, without much open space where sound could carry across. Both [deleted] and Alfonso attest to the silence of the area.

Figure 38. The large and old windows were told to have upped the rooms' chill factor during winter

"My corridor is quiet and the surroundings are quiet. The good thing is that its mostly pre-parties here," [retracted] says when asked about how loud it gets at its worst.

”I think it’s a consequence of the small space, so its really well contained," Alfonso speculates regarding the building itself. Sparta has quite many people living in it in a relatively small space. 

As per the small space, there are very few sitting areas outside. The tiny green areas are sheltered from the sun too, and not particularly nice when considering all of Lund to be a lush living town full of parks. 

Figure 39. Even though Sparta is old, it has been refurbished and stands up to modern standards really well.

“There are some green areas between the buildings for sitting," [Guy Incognito] describes the area. "It's not that big though. The botanical gardens are better for sitting and chilling.”

In the face of slight shortcomings, Sparta still holds its own among the student houses of Lund. Peace and quiet, coupled with convenience is this complex's selling point. It is not picturesque by any standard, but you're a two minute walk away from prettier territory. So if you are not fussed, Sparta will prove to be a great place to live. As Alfonso put it: "It all just works. Not much to complain about.”