This competition entry for the densification of the surburb of Furuset outside of Oslo, Norway comes from a-lab in collaboration with COWI AS and Architectopia. The goal of the project is toreduce the CO2 emission by 50% by the year 2030, Furuset will be a model project in sustainable urban development by increasing the density of the community with the addition of 2500 housing units and 1500 workspaces.
With a growing and diversifying population, the designers considered the kind of urban plan that is adaptive and stable enough to nurture the growth of the community developing in Furuset. The proposal looks forward to creating a strong identity that forms the framework for a high quality of life. exciting urban spaces, diversity, density and a healthy economy.
More on the development of this proposal after the break.
The foremost strategy of the design is to define qualities that enhance the identity of the life between the buildings along with the street life of the city. The urban development is modeled as a framework for the increased density of Furuset that support the city’s openness and its needs to absorb changes. With the abundance of the existing green spaces in Furuset, the architects chose to strengthen and define its qualities to relate to the scale of the city street, contrasting and structuring the landscape against two main urban spaces that will interset at the new Trygve Lies square.
By establishing a physical connection over the highway and up to the forest, a stronger and more diverse green path is created . As a clear structural landscape element the connections will be important not only for the development of Furuset, but also for adjacent suburbs that today are squeezed in between the two highways. A green corridor connects the recreational areas Østmarka and Lillomarka, by Trygve Lie Square, the World Park and the opened green spaces along Alna River at Grorud. In this way, a link between Furuset and both the major urban spaces as well as the landscape context is re-established and intensified.
An intelligent energy system will be established to fulfill the sustainable objective of the competition. One option is a flexible “plug ‘n play” supply system will use CO2 neutral energy from different central and decentralized sources (both electrical, heating and possibly cooling) that can be developed in stages. A smart-grid concept can also be expanded to include other areas of Oslo. In this way, the increased flexibility in the network and framework for development of renewable energy production is improved.On the scale of one residential block this means an interaction with the intelligent energy system where a will only dishwasher start when there is a surplus in the network – typically at night, when the price is lower. Thumble drier is part of an interaction with district heating system, and photo voltaic panels can be installed to produce electricity for local consumption or to the electricity grid.
