Various Architects are again invited to work on a prequalified competition in Åmot, Norway. Together with Kant Arkitekter and Østengen & Bergo, our team was one of 5 teams out of 15 invited to design a new school for the local community. Project teams were chosen based upon reference projects (30%), experience (35%), and a written understanding of the challenges of the project (35%). We are proud to have scored a full 100 points based upon our submitted materials, and look forward to the opportunity to compete for this project.
The other qualified teams include L2 Arkitekter with Gullik Gulliksen, Filter arkitekter with Grindaker Landskap, Ratio arkitekter with Bjørbekk og Lindheim and Arken arkitektkontor with Rambøll. There is a planned site visit and project kick-off on June 9’th, with competition delivery in mid-August. More details to come after the competition has been delivered.
Various Architects have delivered on our second invited school competition in Norway together with Kant Arkitekter and Grindaker Landksap. Nye Nørvasund School is a new 1-7 grade school with 3 parallel classes in an area outside of Ålesund. Our submission was an energy efficient and space effective building that integrated the school’s complex functional needs onto a site with beautiful views to the south.
Our project (motto:»Skolelys») was designed to express a sense of community. The three main functions of the school are each given clearly defined areas bound together within a legible linear form. The 1st to 4th grade classes are placed to one side, 5th to 7th grades on the other, and the BASE (students with special needs) placed between the two to provide a truly integrated school. The school’s diagrammatically linear layout is bent in the middle to create a clear division between the parts and to create a main entrance. The school’s sports and recreation multi-hall is placed centrally opposite the bend, along with administration, an open cantina, library, music room, and a 90 seat auditorium over two floors.
The compact plan of the school makes for short internal connections and good daylighting. Individual entrances for each grade connect to changing rooms and lockers in the first floor that open onto central communication spaces where special instructional areas such as art and science are placed. The second floor contains open plan teaching areas. Each year’s area is defined spatially by the extruded boxes on the facades and roof. The extension of these areas also allows for good daylighting deep into the space, and light from multiple sides. There are no hallways in the building as such, with all of the areas having multiple functions. This way all of the available area can be used as part of the educational environment, either for groups or individual workspaces. This allows the school to achieve a very efficient brutto/netto factor of 1.3.
The competition was won by the project «Parallell» by Selbergs Arkitektkontor AS, Trondheim.
When Oslo Red Cross decided to move to new premises in the center of Oslo, Various Architects were contacted by the Project manager of Stella – Red Cross Centre for Women, Marianne Bockelie, to support in the design of the new office space. Various Architects completed the design work on voluntary basis, showing our support to the Red Cross organization which we strongly believe in.
The project is split over two floors. The lower floor houses Stella, with public areas including the reception, canteen, meeting rooms, and internet café, in addition to a few offices. The top floor is mainly office space for staff. The project was developed in close collaboration with Marianne Bockelie. The design focuses on flexibility by maximizing the open spaces. This allows natural lighting to flow through the whole floor.
The opening ceremony for Stella, attended by her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette Marit, received considerable media attention, emphasizing the importance of woman as a valuable resource in the society, regardless of the cultural and ethnic background.
Two retiring couples have asked us to design a new house next to their existing one, where they can live together and enjoy their retirement.
This ca. 500m2 house is to be built on a 1000m2 site in Stabekk, an area in the municipality of Bærum, just outside of Oslo. Each family will have their own private residence and there will also be some common areas such as a winter garden. The clients are interested in creating an environmentally friendly and unique house that suits their unique needs.
Concept design complete. Schematic design to commence in Sept 2008.
Open international design competition for a 450 meter tall observation tower in Cheongna, Incheon, South Korea.
The design of the tower is inspired by hyperbolic geometry, elegant mathematical forms, and the dynamic yet infinitely balanced taegeuk. The result is an iconic sculptural form that is reminiscent of natural phenomenon. The lattice tower design removes the central core which is archetypical of tall observation towers and replaces it with a lightweight and transparent structure. Within the vast vertical interior space two spheroid volumes that contain the observation platform and educational / entertainment program are suspended in the void creating a tower that is both introvert and extrovert.
The Cheongna City Tower is to be a dramatic statement of design quality and technological innovation whilst also being of a form which is economic and practicable to build. We have attempted to create a dynamic tower proposal that will add an unique iconic element to the IFEZ Cheongna Central Lake Park development. This tower will surely become a symbol of economic growth in South Korea, a national landmark, and an international tourism destination.
We believe that our solution is unique to observation towers in that the tower functions are contained in volumes suspended on the inside of the structure, creating an opportunity for dramatic views both outside of, and inside the tower itself. In addition to high-speed inclined elevators on the tower interior we have also proposed a one-of-a-kind external panorama ride that would lift visitors to the top of the observation tower while slowly spiralling through 450 degrees of views.
This project has been designed to give an end result that is both sculptural, exciting, practical, and with economical use of material. Sculptural design sketches have been translated into circular and elliptical hyperboloids of revolution. These forms extend upwards to create a tower where the plan of the building is dynamic and changing in perfect balance about an invisible central point.
Various Architects, have been comissioned by ANS Mosseveien 16-20 to design a new signal building that will help define the edge of central Fredrikstad when approaching the city on Mosseveien. The project has been designed as an energy-effective and flexible combination of housing, showroom, and retail space.
The compact design of the building reflects and reinterprets the typologies of it’s surroundings to create a dynamic new mixed-use building in fredrikstad. The first floor plinth of retail space is planned to include a grocery store and mix of smaller shops or cafes in an long low volume in glass and concrete which relates to the large scale industrial buildings typical of this part of Fredrikstad. Four «house» extrusions have been carefully placed on the plinth as a transition to the scale of the historical wooden houses on Trosvikberget which lies behind the site to the north-east. The four volumes have been developed as flexible containers for apartments of varying sizes (clad in wood), or as potential «showroom» retail space (clad in metal) connected to the plinth below. A grass roof on the plinth provides private outdoor garden space for residents. The building’s form, placement, and facade treatment will help screen the existing housing behind from the increaded traffic noise on Mosseveien when the new bridge to Krokerøy opens. The directed openings between the houses maintain open views to the waterfront of the Floa river from Trosvikberget and providing good daylighting and for the new apartments.
The four week period of reguleringsvarsling (planning notice) has begun. Various Architects will be collecting input from neighbors and public instances as a part of the planning process. The completed planning application is scheduled to be sent in to Fredrikstad Kommune in early February.
Varslingsmateriale for naboer og offentlig instanser kan lastes ned på kommunens hjemmesider, eller her: varslingsbrev.pdf
Various Architects are designing a new range of wooden holiday cabins ranging in size from 70-120m2. Traditional materials and exterior finishes like naturally treated wood cladding and green roofs harmonize with the Norwegian landscape. Modern, functional interiors and efficient plans provide the kinds of spaces that one would expect in a modern holiday cabin. Social spaces are prioritized, with most of the designs featuring double-height living spaces with open plan kitchens and extra loft space. Various Architects have currently developed 6 different cabins that are suitable for anyone from individuals or small families up to extended families or larger groups.
The Various Cabins Series is being designed to high environmental standards. All massive-wood construction provides a low CO2 structural system and short on-site building time with a minimal disturbance of nature. Interior finishes of locally sourced non-toxic materials provide a good interior climate while well insulated exterior walls with smartly placed window openings provide views and maximise passive solar gain. All of the cabin designs will be energy efficient and designed to function off the grid with their own self-sustained solar power system, but they can be connected to the power grid if available and desired.
More information to come. For specific inquiries, or if you are interested in a custom cabin design for a particular site, feel free to contact us!
Bergen Tomteselskap asked 3 teams to deliver proposals for the future development of the Kokstad Vest area in Bergen. Kokstad is an area of light industry, commercial development, storage, retail stores, office buildings and a hotel. The location next to Flesland Airport makes it an attractive site for future development as the airport expands. Bergen has plans to expand the Bybanen light rail system to the airport with Kokstad as the closest stop to the airport. The project site borders on the Storrinden recreational area which is a valuable natural resource for plants and wildlife.
Various Architects, Code, and Lalaland have developed a scheme for sustainable development that protects valuable green area by reducing the amount of new infrastructure though careful organisation of the roads, and compact development of a limited area of new building. The plan ties together the existing fingers of development in Kokstad with a new central Axis from Flyplassvegen up to Kokstadvegen. Instead of using cut/fill to place a road through the natural area, it is integrated into the structure of the main office development as a ramp-bridge. This creates the required parking area underneath the buildings, and creates a dynamic public floor which climbs up the landscape from the proposed Bybane stop. This exciting new office park of energy-efficient buildings would create a new gateway to Bergen.
The project is divided into three main areas:
Kokstadtorget – Dense commercial building over a public retail/service space. Includes office, hotel, retail, services, and parking.
Bjørnåsen and Barhaugmyra – «A Smarter Kokstad». Includes light industry, technology, retail, education and culture.
Lonemyra – Sustainable housing close to nature. includes housing, daycare, outdoor recreation, and local shops
Various Architects was asked to create a mobile air plane hangar for Solar Impulse, the Swiss long-range solar powered aircraft. In collaboration with engineers from Ramboll UK and developer of inflatable elements, Tectonicks, Various Architects developed a light, easily transportable structure in the form of a series of inflatable high pressure arcs. Through pressure the arcs lead weight to the ground.
The hangar is 60m long to cover the planes wingspan. Divided into 7 self bearing elements, that are easily connected to each other. They create and an efficient and dynamic form to be able to manage strong wind. The fabric that covers the wingspan is transparent to allow re-charging the solar batteries of the aircraft.To stay within weight requirements, anchoring is suggested to be provided locally where the hangar is erected. The structure weighs 900 kg, whilst the fan weigh 100 kg. The project remains within the 1000 kg weight limit demanded in the program.
Florø Kommune invited 4 teams of architects to a compete for the redesign and renovation of Eikefjord School. Out of 35 applying teams, Various Architects together with Kant Arkitekter in Copenhagen and Grindaker Landskapsarkitekter in Oslo qualified for the competition. The existing school is to be completely rethought and expanded to house 10 parallel classes, a new gymnasium, and improved facilities for the teachers and staff.
The project motto «Alt under ett tak» (Everything under one roof) connects existing and new buildings together under one undulating roof structure. Our proposal creates a new gathering place for the local community and a modern school that provides the kinds of educational spaces that the Norwegian school reform requires. The project set out to keep as much of the existing structures as possible because they are both a economical and environmental resources. The existing buildings would be upgraded in plan to accomodate universal access and given new exterior insulation to save energy. This would allow the budgeted money to be spent on creating the best possible new buildings for the community.
The existing classrooms are used for base areas, natural sciences, administration, and personell. Existing interior brick walls were proposed moved to dissolve the existing corridor/classrom barrier. The addition of niches and glass areas in the corridor would allow them to be used for group work or as an active part of the learning environment. The new building is formed by continuing the roof peaks of the existing buildings to create a sports hall, music room, school kitchen, cafe, foyer, library, and a large open amphitheatre with stage. The undulating roof breaks down the scale of the sports hall and creates inspiring interior spaces for the students. The entrance space becomes the heart of the new school, and potentially the cultural center for the people of Eikefjord. The new building also creates a protective frame around the school’s central courtyard by screening it from the elements.
Link Signatur from Bergen won the competition with a scheme which was not unlike our own. The Jury, however, praised our project delivery by saying the following:
«Everything under one roof» has delivered particularly thourough material for the competition. An abundance of text, drawings, and reference images give an attractive impression. The design itself also shows a clear engagement and impressive well of ideas.»
Norwegian Property (NPRO) organized an open architecture competition for a new restaurant and service building at the Tingvallautsikkeren, part of the Aker Brygge waterfront in Oslo.
Our design strives to create a new public destination at Aker Brygge. By placing the restaurant on the northern side of the site, we created an inviting, open space to the south that connects visitors back to the fjord. Outdoor elements of long wooden logs have been randomly distributed along the space, functioning as outdoor furniture and as objects for children to climb on and enjoy.
The proposed design is flexible both in form and in function. It adapts to the climate and the natural light throught the seasons. The large glass facades of the restaurant are removable. In summer, they open up to connect the outdoor and indoor areas. In winter, the facades are closed protecting the visitors from the cold weather outside, providing a cosy and intimate atmosphere with good views of the fjord.
Renovation and addition of high-end boutique and office space in a historically listed structure at the entrance to Grunerløkka in Oslo.