Bjørvika, a harbour in the eastern part of Oslo, Norway, has become a hot spot for architectural innovation. We have the brand new Oslo Opera by SNOHETTA and the recent competition for the Oslo Central Station awarded to Space Group.
And a recent planning/design competition -actually 2 competitions- just added two cultural buildings to the harbour: the Munch-Area, which will have the new Munch-museum with a collection of the Stenersenmuseum, and the Deichman axis withav the Deichman Library.
Both competitions included invited practices and a stage on which practices applied for pre-qualification.
You can see the list of practices for the Munch Museum here. And the Deichman library here.
The winning project for the Munch Museum was Lambda, by Herreros Arquitectos. The winning project for the Deichman Library was Diagonale, by Lund Hagem Arkitekter and Atelier Oslo. See all the winners after the break.
MUNCH MUSEUM
First Prize
Lambda / Herreros Arquitectos Lambda creates a generous invitation both to the Museum and to the public access of the area in general. The location of the Museum on Paulsenkaia leaves the area south of the Opera open to a public park and recreational landmark in the middle of the bay overlooking the fjord, in close contact both with the Opera and the Museum. The project strengthens the river mouth, opens the landscape and gives public access to both sides of the river all the way out to the fjord. The position between Akerselva and Stasjonsallmenningen connects the Museum to the commons as well as to the harbour promenade and fixes the urban vision of the area as a whole. The main entrance facing north connects the building to the urban fabric and city centre.
The choice of location and the urban form of the building makes Lambda stand out as a beautiful contemporary museum worthy of displaying the important combined collections in the centre of Bjørvika at the edge of the fjord. The building adds to the silhouette of the Opera with a slight verticality, choosing a posture which shows a double attention towards the fjord and the city. The new building communicates with the Opera on the same level of importance and opens the new reading of the landscape and introduce a new type of public space and openness in the area.
The concept of the Museum is flexible and invites to create new relationships between the two institutions. Separate exhibition areas connected with a generous vertical communication makes it easy to compose and change different exhibitions. Both Munch and Stenersen can be expressed and redefined inside as well as outside the building.
It is light and translucent in contrast to the opera. It is displaying the movement of people in the facade in contrast to the people walking on the roof of the Opera. The Museum talks with both sides of the bay by placing the exhibition and working space east and communication and public flows facing west.
Lambda makes a public vertical statement that is more powerful than the commercial high-rise zone to the north. It is a statement of art and public accessibility to the fjord. The building is elegant and iconic in its simplicity and will be a light tower in the fjord introducing an amazing place for people enjoying the unique landscape of Oslo.
Download full information of the project here.
Second Prize
Girls on the bridge / Christ Gantenbein Architects/ Lie Øyen Arkitekter Girls on the Bridge place the Museum at the eastern side of the river. The large, simple building and the geometrically very clear park, picks up a scale that it is common for the opera, Bjørvikutstikkeren and Bispevika.
The project is chosen due to its localization and its strong organizing effect on Bjørvika. Furthermore it is chosen for its intention of developing the museum into a large general art hall and the possibility to develop an elastic and flexible museum.
The project reads as an idea project, and not as a fully functional and architecturally elaborated project.
Download full information of the project here.
Second Prize
Yin Yang / REX Architects Yin Yang is placed on the far end of Bjørvikutstikkeren. The project proposes a dense, one level display of the exhibition areas which are totally entoured by an open, glassed surface fully accessible to the public all the way around the building.
The project is ranked for the clear and strong concept an organization of a contemporary museum. The location of the museum on A11 is difficult in relationship with the opera and the river mouth. The concern deals with the fact that the building will be an obstacle to contact with and view to the Fjord from the Akerselva common, the park area in front of the Opera and the Opera roof.
The project’s organizing of the professional working zones on level 0 creates difficult conditions for daylight, and must be rearranged if the project is to be fully acceptable for the purpose. The project reads as an idea project, and not as a fully functional and architecturally elaborated project.
Download full information of the project here.
DEICHMAN LIBRARY
First Prize
Diagonale / Lund Hagem Arkitekter and Atelier Oslo The motto Diagonale seems to refer to both the sight line requirement, which has a distinct influence of the shape of the library, and the diagonal street that divides the A9 plot to give visual as well as functional access from the Akerselva Common to the Opera. The urban and commercial concept is very good.
Diagonale has a very good solution for the library. It neither has too many nor too few floors, and organizes the library around a beautifully shaped inner space that spans the building from roof to ground level. Diagonale consistently received the best rating from the librarians in the jury, and the general acclaim of the rest of the jury. Architecturally this is a proposal with great potential, while at the same time respectful of the position of the Opera.
Diagonale scored best on environmental issues of all entries. It can meet energy objectives well below official requirements and is well ahead of all others. The outer skin only has 20% windows. 80% is clad with a translucent nano-gel wall with very strong insulation qualities. This allows the library to be not only innovative in terms of library solutions, but also in technical matters. Future reductions of amissiones and energy use will depend strongly on innovation. The jury wants to emphasize this.
Download full information of the project here.
Second Prize
Meeting place/divercity/openness/exploration / SHL Meeting Place has many features that resemble the winning entry. It has a cantilever solution that gives the front area a fine entrance plaza. The number of floors may be a little high but the jury feels this can be amended. The library revolves around a very beautiful inner atrium that spans the construction from roof to the ground.
On the environmental side, Meeting Place has far too much glass to fulfill official requirements. This alone makes it inacceptable as a future library without very serious modifications.
Download full information of the project here.
Fourth Prize
Between Brochure / David Chipperfield Architects Between Brochure holds some of the qualities of the winner. This entry has a problem of presentation that makes it somewhat difficult to see the strong architectural quality of the library interior. The library concept may seem to be a little conventional but has great potential. It has the potential to fulfill the competition’s environmental requirements.
Download full information of the project here.
Fourth Prize
Intermezzo / Snohetta Intermezzo is different from the other award winners in that the library spans most of the A8 and A9 plots. Streets and passageways thus become tunnels. The quality that raises this entry to an award winning position is the large library hall clad with evergreen plants. Environmentally, this project has the potential to fulfill the requirements of the program.
Download full information of the project here.
