Design proposal for a mixed-use project in Geilo, in the valley of Hallingdal. Geilo is first and foremost a ski resort, but also offers summer activities. The site is located on the main road of the city and offers a 360 view panorama.
The task was to develop apartments that skiers could rent when visiting Geilo along with building amenities and additional program such as restaurants, shops and playgrounds.
Our main intention was to break down the scale to fit into the village context. We separated the programme adding a base which roof’s acts as a public platform and laid on top of it the housing volumes. These volumes have the same measurements and have either an individual pitched roof or half of one.
Some of the volumes are shifted to the front or to the back to create terraces for the apartments and allow side windows for bedrooms. It was important to maintain a collective feeling and at the same time give the users privacy in their apartments. Bedrooms are placed on the north facade with smaller openings and away from the highway. Living rooms and kitchens are oriented to the south, to get more light in and enjoy full openings towards the mountains.
Various Architects, together with CEBRA Arkitekter and Østengen & Bergo Landskapsarkitekter won an invited competition to design a new 1st to 10th grade school in Larvik, Norway.
New Mesterfjellet School and Family Center combines contemprary pedagogical theory with varied teaching environments, passivhaus level energy efficiency and excellent indoor climate in a 5-story school on an urban site in Larvik. The School creates a framework for a living and a multifaceted educational universe with great spatial variation that supports the schools varying functions. An arena for learning, a workplace, and a social meeting place.
By upending the diagram of a typical atrium school, the introverted central space with roof-light is transformed into an extroverted central space with generous daylight and views to the playground outside. The common school functions which are typically arranged on the ground floor are now also spread vertically throughout the building. This transparent and unusual organisation combines the best qualities from traditional compact atrium schools and more spread out «finger» schools.
The vertical central space is the heart of the building and functions as a fulcrum for student activities. The landmark magenta stairway spirals up throughout the space to create an inviting and exciting path for the students. The compact plan gives short internal distances from classrooms to special functions on every floor, creating a synergi effect that allows students to meet and interact regardless of their age or cohort. Themed internal «squares» on each floor relate to the specialized teaching spaces nearby. Smaller, more intimate gathering areas are also provided within each floor, with seating niches on top of book lockers, or larger «storytelling» spaces in the north-east corner. This combination of spaces provides for great spatial variation allowing individuals or groups to find their own spaces for study or soscialisation. Artist Frida Fjellman has contributed a series of large plexiglass crystals to the central space.
The central open space is clad with perforated wooden panels that provide sound absorbtion and ensure an optimal acoustical response. The perforations of the panels are decorated with pedagogical and aesthetical elements made from holes of varying sizes. Three motives tell stories that are related to the special rooms behind them. The motive-walls weave images from scientific history, nordic mythology and musical elements together into an open narrative that students can explore and discover over time. New details can be interpreted and understood differently as they develop throughtout their tenure at the school.
Various Architects have been asked by the Office of Metropolitan Architecture to join their team of architects as consultants on their competition winning Taipei Performing Arts Centre (TPAC) project in Taiwan. The project will be run from a newly established OMA office in Hong Kong, lead by David Gianotten. The Hong Kong office will also be working on several other projects, including the masterplan of the West Kowloon Cultural District and the Shenzen Stock Exchange.
Partner Ibrahim Elhayawan from Various Architects will be the project leader of the OMA team, and will work closely with Rem Koolhaas and the OMA team to develop the 40,000m2 theatre in Taipei from competition scheme to the definitive design phase. Various Architects were approached by OMA due to our extensive experience with complex cultural projects and theatres, something we look forward to further extending in Hong Kong.
The TPAC contains a 1500 seat theatre and two 800 seat theatres, which can be connected together in many configurations via an innovative and flexible stage arrangement. We are extremely excited to be a part of the OMA team on this bold theatre project and look forward to our collaboration over the next year.
For more information about the project refer to the OMA project page.
All images by OMA / Frans Parthesius© All rights reserved.
The Mobile Performance Venue (MPV) will represent Arts Alliance Productions and their performance “ID – Identity of the Soul” worldwide in 2009. ID is a five-screen cinematic performance based on Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s epic poem Terje Vigen and Mahmoud Darwish’s poem A Soldier Dreams of White Lillies. Associative images of the poem, interspersed with filmed images of an actor presenting it are projected onto five 12mx7m HD-video screens. Live dancers perform in front of, behind, and between the screens throughout the show.
The client brief for the project is for a lightweight and easily transportable venue that meets their technical requirements for projection screens and surround sound system, while also creating a unique and iconic structure. The current design (end of schematic design phase) makes the MPV the largest mobile venue in the world. The dynamic oval form is 90m x 60m, ranges from 10m to 17m tall, and has 3900m2 of covered space. The central performance space (2000m2) will hold a standing audience of 3500 people. Optional configurations include optional stadium seating and conversion of the central screen to a stage for live performances. The project is divided into 20 structural segments which allow varying configurations ranging from 2000 to 3900 m2 total area if needed.
The public plaza is formed by an arcade of open hexagons at ground level that mark a clear entrance to the otherwise closed form. This plaza contains all of the necessary front-of-house functions such as ticketing, cloak room, and restrooms. A mezzanine area above can be used for refreshments, catering, exhibition, or VIP functions. The back-of-house skin has a more complex and closed pattern. This serves to protect the projectors, sound systems, personell, and dancers behind the screens.
Sustainability is a difficult and complex topic for a project of this size that requires transport. Our main goal was to make the structure as lightweight and compact as possible to reduce shipping weight and volume. One example of this is the self-supporting PVC skin of hexagonal inflated tubes and cushions that form the front-of-house and back-of-house spaces. The specified fire resistant PVC fabric is durable and 100% recyclable.
An extremely efficient ‘bicycle wheel’ truss provides lateral stability for the project and full or partial coverage of the performance space. Supported by standard aluminum staging components this structure is also lightweight and recyclable. Optional mesh or solid pvc covers would provide shade in hot dry climates or rain protection in wet ones. The central oculus can also be covered with an inflatable cap. Water tank foundations remove the need to transport heavy weights. The entire project can be transported in 30 standard 40’ containers (20 if roof is omitted). The structure requires 2 weeks for assembly and one week for disassembly. This estimate is conservative, but represents an extremely low shipping volume for a structure of this size.
Various Architects has been commissioned by Nielsen Project to design the renovation of the office building the housed one of the oldest cinema in Oslo. The building is named after the cinema it housed, Olympia kino. The project is a result of the a collaborative design process with the client.
The main concept is to bring back some of the historical qualities of the building in a modern way. The design focuses on the office building by creating a generous foyer in the middle of the building, sacrificing valuable commercial areas to provide special experience in such a dense area in Oslo center. This experience is enhanced by developing a green garden in the backyard and connecting the foyer to garden on different levels. The choice of material and patterns has been inspired by the original building using natural materials such as stone, copper and wood. We received positive critique from the Cultural Heritage Office for our design the focuses on renovating the facade to it´s original design and putting emphasis on universal access.
Various Architects is working on the refurbishment of Christian Kroghs gate 32 in downtown Oslo. The building will be reburbished in its totality for new office tenants and includes facade upgrade, new lifts and ventilation system, refurbishment of office floors as well as the shared indoors courtyard.
The building is from the 1930s and has a clean and clear modernist character where it rests on the Akerselva riverfront. As it is a listed building the renovation will include collaboration with the Oslo Conservation Office. We look forward to new dialogues with them and will lend experience from our successful renovation of Olympiagården.
A-Møbler AS commissioned Various Architects to design the extension to their furniture warehouse as a part of a general modernisation of the warehouse and the A-møbler brand. The main task was to change the costumer behavior and circulation to make a better experience when visiting the warehouse. In addition to give the ware house a new look, and extend the exhibition space, the extension included an escalator from the entrance directly to the 2nd floor, and a large reception area. A-Møbler has a very central location in the Alnabru shopping district, and is located inbetween two busy roads; strømsveien and E6 (largest highway in and out of Oslo).
Design Concept
The main concept is to create a lively and inviting building that would be attractive to costumers. At the same it´s important to restrict natural daylight in the exhibition space. The design is achieved be creating a double facade with white polycarbonate that is lit from the inside. In addition a large glass fasade towards the reception and circulation area is created. The warehouse has been known throughout for its distinctive front facade which included a very large letter “A “ that marked the entrance and exit of the building as people had to walk through it to get in and out. Various Architects maintained this landmark by creating the letter “A” even larger than before yet fully integrated in the facade.