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Architects: Lund Hagem Architects
- Year: 2017
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Photographs:Marc Goodwin
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Lead Architects: Kristine Strøm-Gundersen, Katharina Stühmeyer, Simen Storhaug Christiansen, Joana Branco
Text description provided by the architects. Only a 15 minutes’ drive from the city center of Trondheim along the Norwegian coastline, a former production site makes a place for a new residential area. When Lund Hagem in 2013 won the competition for a smaller part of it, the statement of the commissioners was very clear: “… to develop a housing project with its very own qualities based on the site and what this specifically had to offer – views, water, exposure. The project seeks to explore these unique local qualities by organizing different housing types in a setting which would not only give everybody access to the sea but also create sheltered common spaces for the community as well as for single individuals.
The long-shaped form of the site with water on three sides, its orientation, and the climate-conditions asked for different housing types. Towards the north and the open sea, two 3-story buildings with flats are located slightly raised above the general outdoor area, protecting the site against the harsh wind from the sea. On the opposite side towards the south, semi-detached 2-story houses are situated along a small canal towards the inland, breaking down the scale as well as optimizing sun into the common outdoor areas and access lane, situated between the volumes.
At the end of this lane where the artificial island meets the water at three sides, 12 single family-houses are located along the edge of the site, making a sheltered outdoor space as well as exposing the length of each house to the waters edge and the view. The sheltered gardens are lifted one floor up making the houses only two floors from the interior view in contrast to the three floors from the water’s edge, with access to private dock and boat-parking. Analyses at the beginning of the design process showed, that heavy wind and even storm could occur from all directions throughout the year - including the sunny south – meaning that there was no preferred “balcony-side”. Due to that, all flats and houses are orientated towards 2 sides at least, with balconies, terraces, and gardens on both sides.
While the single-family and row-houses have terraces on the water with private docks and gardens on the other side of the house, the flats have balconies on to sides. The plan solution also responds to this quality and rooms are located accordingly. All the housing types have kitchen/dining/living with contact to gardens as well as the water’s edge. The bedrooms are located some towards the gardens and some towards the long views and water. The Single-family houses have the bedroom upstairs with a closed façade towards the gardens, giving privacy to the house as well as limiting views into the neighboring gardens.
Access to basement and parking is provided under the flats with a connection leading to the parking-level for the single-family houses. Resulting in an outdoor area free from traffic giving the possibility to transforms the lane and common space into green parks and playgrounds for the people living there or passing through. In spite of the different housing typologies, the use of same materials leads to a holistic appearance. All houses are clad with Cedar-wood on the facade. Varying panel widths and vertical/horizontal mounting give each typology its own character and feel, an important detail for playful variation.
The outdoor space and landscape are developed as a “string” tying it all together. The edges are broken to create a natural flow through the site. Varying local vegetation has been carefully chosen to withstand the harsh climate. The common space belonging to the housing is interacted along the way by play-areas and parks connecting the canal towards the south and the boat harbor towards the north, tying the site/island to the mainland via a bridge as well as to the general network of paths in the area. The local lane culminates in amongst the single-family houses in a fruit-tree “meadow” sheltered from the rough wet exterior.
