THE NORWEGIAN EUROPAN 11 JURY REPORT
E11 SITE 1: HAUGESUND
The site of Flotmyr is located in the small city of Haugesund at the boundary of the historic urban downtown grid to the west and the nearby detached single-family residential area to the east. Once a landfill, the site currently functions as an urban void occupied by temporary programs that include a bus terminal, bus parking, taxi depot and general free parking area utilized by people working in the city centre and at the nearby hospital.
As a large urban void owned by the municipality of Haugesund, Flotmyr offers a wide range of possibilities that have been the focus of ongoing urban development discussions over the past 50 years. From the point of view of the municipality therefore, the aim of the competition is to identify an approach that provides a vision for a robust, sustainable urban structure that could function in a complimentary way with the historic centre, as well as strengthen Haugesund's regional position. Specifically, the brief asks for proposals that address five challenges on a strategic urban level as well as on a more detailed one. Proposals are asked to: i) present strategies for quality, in some cases ‘weather-proof’, outdoor public spaces linked to the existing urban and landscape structures; ii) densify the site to a built ratio of 200%; iii) provide innovative solutions to the site’s future as a hub for local and regional public transportation; iv) develop strategies for programmatic and user diversity; and (v) transform the site into a vibrant and integrated part of the city. The last ambition is particularly challenging due to the site’s disconnection from the city along its western edge, where it is bounded by Haugesund’s main traffic artery carrying approximately 30,000 cars per day.
The Jury looked to proposals that addressed the above challenges in an innovative and coherent manner. Although several schemes presented strong ideas with potential for further development, it was agreed that no single scheme sufficiently satisfied all challenges described in the brief, and therefore did not award a winning prize. A number of entries suffered from fundamental misreadings of the scale of the site. Under-represented amongst the projects were those providing strategic time-based approaches to the dynamics of urban development, and sufficiently robust urban structures. The Jury chose two runner-up projects that each exhibited their own strengths and collectively addressed these two general shortcomings.
WINNER HAUGESUND: (no winner awarded)
RUNNER-UP (1) HAUGESUND: FLOTMYR IS BACK ON THE POSTCARD
The design presents a considered response to the issues addressed in the brief of the competition. It offers a sensitive mediation between the denser urban grid of the historical centre and the lower density residential fabric to the east and south of the site. The scale and typological diversity of the project is appropriate and integrated with the surrounding context while at the same time it potentially structures an urban experience. The scheme links the stadium and adjacent neighbourhoods to the city centre through a spatial sequence incorporating public spaces and green areas that supports close proximity between residential and commercial functions and enables pedestrian and bicycle mobility both from and through the site. Furthermore, it locates the bus station in a position that supports connection to the city centre and fits into the local traffic conditions.
While the consideration of climate-responsive design is mentioned in the proposal, it is not explicitly shown on the drawings or developed in a coherent manner. While the design of the public spaces has the potential to mitigate wind velocities at the pedestrian level, similar considerations have not been applied to the location and shape of the proposed tower. The latter object is likely to have a negative impact on the neighbouring buildings, particularly in terms of the redirection and acceleration of wind and solar shading. The height and extent of the proposed elevated plaza was also questioned by the Jury, as was the quality of the public space beneath it. The goal of establishing a certain diversity and hierarchy in the public spaces, it was discussed, may be achievable with a smaller plaza utilizing fewer resources.
RUNNER-UP (2) HAUGESUND: HIP HUBS
The Jury appreciates the way this proposal addresses not only new development within the bounded site of Flotmyr, but also the relationship of the site to the city centre as a key aspect in its revitalization. The scheme proposes to weave existing leftover urban spaces into a green ring supporting expanded formats of mobility within the city. Also appreciated is the way the project considers the factor of time as a key aspect of the development.
The strategic conception of the project as a process connecting the site with the existing city and the green belt is however more convincing than the resulting urban configuration developed for Flotmyr – a configuration that appears unstructured or incomplete. The spaces between the buildings for example are over-scaled and lack sufficent definition and intention to be considered as quality public space. Additionally, the position of the buildings and the relation between them is insufficiently explained or argued. Despite these shortcomings, the Jury considered the flexibility of the scheme and its proposal to combine multiple mixed functions positive.
HONOURABLE MENTION (1) HAUGESUND: GARDENURBIA
This scheme is based upon the potential of green space, in its public, semi-public and private forms, to increase the quality of the public realm. This is seen as an appropriate and productive focus in the context of Haugesund’s obvious shortage of green public space. The proposed urban fabric mitigates between the dense grid of the city centre and the less dense urban fabric of the surrounding neighbourhoods, and in doing so, it introduces a permeability to the site, connecting the new neighbourhood to the existing city. The Jury challenged, however, the robustness of the proposed urban structure, along with the proposal to place program at below grade level. The latter in particular was questioned based on both issues of functionality as well as the history of the site as a former landfill.
HONOURABLE MENTION (2) HAUGESUND: TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED
This proposal was appreciated by the Jury for its more radical strategic approach to the development of the Flotmyr site and the city as a whole over time. Rather than the more conventional approach of defining programmatic and volumetric regulations within the borders of the site, followed by the site’s sale on the real estate market, the municipality is instead encouraged to engage actively in an urban "swapping strategy". In this approach, the municipality, guided also by public participation, would swap sites with private developers to achieve important goals in the wider framework of the city. This form of game scenario played out over time could operate as a new way to optimally locate development and activities within the city – one potentially allowing a parallel intensification of both the city centre and Flotmyr.
The Jury found this strategic approach interesting in that it compels the municipality to expand its view of the needs and potentials of the city, and its interaction with Flotmyr. Such time-based planning capable of defining ‘game-moves’ within a dynamic set of urban conditions is embraced as a strong and inventive idea. The development of the proposal beyond this strategic level however is not strong enough to answer the full set of challenges defined in the competition brief.
E11 SITE 2: SKIEN – PORSGRUNN
GENERAL REMARKS BY THE JURY
The combined program brief developed by the twin cities Porsgrunn and Skien is ambitious in both its scale and goals, and complex in its challenges. It solicits inspiration to address the task of binding the two cities together through new modes of low-emission transportation. A key element in the cities’ strategy is to establish a light rail system along largely existing train lines running from Skien in the north to the industrial site Herøya in the south. The brief points to four strategic nodes along the proposed light rail track: Herøya, Porsgrunn, the Menstad area (which lies between the two cities) and finally Skien. Proposals are expected to deliver both strong solutions for the sites in themselves, as well as suggesting how movement between them should be arranged. That the four sites differ considerably from one another adds to the complexity of the task. Furthermore, the plan is intended to be put into place by two separate administrations in cities that have a long tradition of competition. The proposals delivered therefore are expected to contain aspects capable of convincing local politicians, developers and planners of the advantages of linking the cities more closely together.
That the threefold challenge of the program – site development, inventive mobility planning and the display of mutual benefits – is rather demanding of participants is evident in the general unevenness of proposals submitted. While the Jury agreed that several proposals contained interesting elements that could spark more coherent projects addressing the overall aims of Porsgrunn and Skien, a consensus was reached that none of the proposals fully met the cities’ challenges in a consistent and convincing manner, or the full aspirations of the Europan competition, and therefore elected not to award a first prize. However, in the Jury’s opinion, the “Link +” project clearly merits the status of a runner-up in the way it addresses possible synergies between mobility and site development and how it synthesizes them in terms of punctual architectural interventions. Despite shortcomings in the development of the concept in spatial and architectural terms, and the lack of resolution of some of the larger issues at stake, the Jury agreed that this project offers the municipalities a fresh and interesting focus that could evolve through further cooperation.
WINNER SKIEN – PORSGRUNN: (no winner awarded)
RUNNER-UP SKIEN – PORSGRUNN: LINK+
The jury appreciated the simplicity and coherency of this proposal. The presentation communicates an optimal choice for a light rail route and its infrastructural nodes between the cities, resulting from a traffic analysis that compares a set of alternative rail lines. The scheme concentrates on the development of each node as a potential attractor, or place of encounter, for the larger region through a series of bridges across the river. Firstly, the bridges are intended to connect neighbourhoods that are currently cut off by the river. This approach focuses on supporting pedestrian and bicycle mobility and expands upon the cities’ ambitions toward broader strategies for sustainable transportation. Secondly, the proposed bridges host programs supporting public and collective use in order to raise their value beyond pure traffic functions. In this sense, the bridges are conceptualized as programmed “destinations”. Thirdly, new qualities are added independent of the planned light rail project that increase the feasibility of such a large and ambitious vision. The Jury agreed that the manner in which the proposal positions the bridges as events along the proposed line of public transport is fitting to the challenge of providing current automobile drivers with attractive public alternatives. Although abstract in their current presentation, the architectural landmarks of the bridges potentially provide the cities of Porsgrunn and Skien with their first visible link. Additionally, the Jury agreed that this proposal was successful in addressing the larger stated challenge of Europan 11 – ‘doing more with less’.
The project does however suffer from a noticeable lack of design elaboration on the bridges. Furthermore, it lacks a clear concept as to how the four sites pointed to in the program – Herøya, Porsgrunn, Menstad and Skien – could be further developed. Despite these obvious shortcomings, the Jury valued the project’s ability to tease out new possibilities to link the two cities more closely. In this sense the proposal meets the requirement of displaying the mutual benefits of linking the cities, and potentially offers inspiration for future collaborations between the municipalities.
HONOURABLE MENTION (1) SKIEN – PORSGRUNN: BETWEEN THE LINES
The jury appreciated that this proposal addressed the region’s relationship to the water in a convincing manner. This is read and elaborated upon as a scheme “in between the lines” of the planned and existing transportation infrastructures and the course of the existing river. A new linear zone is proposed, facilitating access to the waterfront, built up as a chain of new public spaces with various atmospheric qualities adjacent to the water.
While this approach offers considerable potential in integrating infrastructure with urban quality, some of the proposed spatial interventions at the strategic nodes were questioned by the Jury. At Skien, for example, the scheme proposes what the Jury believed is a needless eradication of the historical industrial buildings of the city.
HONOURABLE MENTION (2) SKIEN – PORSGRUNN: COMBINATIONS
This project proposes a compelling typological and topographical diversity appropriate to each of the four varied nodes of Herøya, Porsgrunn, Menstad and Skien. The properties of each site are identified and enhanced by both programmatic and to a lesser extent, spatial means. This implies varied experiential qualities, in turn formulating four specific identities along the proposed rail line.
While the scheme offers a certain interpretive openness, the Jury agreed that it was under-articulated spatially, particularly in terms of the unresolved visualizations and the overly schematic plans.
E11 SITE 3: OSLO GRØNMO
GENERAL REMARKS BY THE JURY
Located in the forest edge of southwest Oslo, the site of what was formerly Northern Europe’s largest landfill challenges Europan entrants to propose a new identity for the area through the introduction of ‘planned leisure activities’ and an education centre in addition to recycling activities already taking place there. Proposals therefore are required to negotiate between two main systems: a complex underground machinery encompassing processes with a 70 to 100 year time-frame, and a new overground leisure and educational landscape.
The site is located nearby, and within driving distance, to an expanding neighbourhood that is characterized by a sizeable immigrant population and the highest concentration of youth in Oslo. According to the municipality this influences the suitability of programming with the nearby population exhibiting contrasting leisure practices (such as picnicking in parkspace) to those of the traditional Norwegian population (who predominantly embrace hiking in the forest or other wilderness contexts). Successful proposals therefore are likely to offer the possibility of supporting social Integration/interaction within and amongst these groups and activities. Such a positive outcome is currently placed in question by the municipality’s lack of planned public transport to the site.
In general the Jury embraced proposals that explored the possibilities of Europan 11’s maxim ‘doing more with less’ – in the widest sense of the term. This involved innovative and appropriate programmatic and spatial approaches capable of suggesting lively and viable forms of public life. Based on the large scale of the site, successful proposals tended to be strong in conceptual terms, as well as robust and flexible enough to allow them to be implemented little by little over time.
WINNER OSLO GRØNMO: THE GARDENS OF GRØNMO
This scheme offers a persuasive proposal for ‘doing more with less’. It suggests an appropriate and resource-efficient approach to the contemporary challenges of Grønmo. The proposal is singular and coherent in its introduction of the program of allotment gardens – a program that has the potential to resonate with the local demography and neighbourhood context, and one that is in considerable demand in Oslo. Allotment gardens, it has been argued are effective sites of integration between majority and minority populations, and between different minority populations, particularly amongst women. The proposal presents a relatively coherent development from concept to program to structure and spatial elements – suggesting a range of gardens, from private, and communal, to public and institutional. Based on a fixed framework supporting flexible infilling, the project has a robustness that allows it to be realized in part or in increments without being compromised by the lack of complete implementation. Additionally, it could potentially be mixed with other programs and still survive as a scheme.
However, the Jury agreed that the scheme was less convincing in its articulation of moments of public intensity – which remain somewhat vague in the presentation. It is also doubtful as to how it relates specifically to the uneven topography of the site. Further jury questions addressed the symbolic challenges associated with the cultivation of produce on a former waste dump area; and the potential ‘privateness’ of gardening if removed from the surrounding urban context – one that could stand as a further example of the tendency toward the neoliberal outsourcing of public space. Despite these concerns, the majority of the Jury felt that the proposal provides the potential to develop the area into an active leisure space and vibrant meeting point.
RUNNER-UP OSLO GRØNMO: IN RETURN
This scheme presents an appropriate and coherent proposal for Grønmo. It expands programmatically upon the flows and loops of material and energy that is inherent in the historical- as well as present- and future-conditions of the site. Rather than placing the main educational element addressing recycling – the education center – into a closed architectural ‘box’, the scheme deploys a range of ‘recycling’ processes across the entire field of the site through a variety of landscape ‘circuits’ and meeting points ranging from an agro-forestry and plant rotation loop (incorporating yearly Christmas tree cultivation and composting for example) to a bike circuit, water cycle and forest habitat loop. Furthermore, the scheme suggests a strategy for deploying a diversity and density of programs across the site that achieves an appropriate and potentially realizable level, in addition to reacting to the varying topographical and sub-ground conditions.
HONORABLE MENTION (1) OSLO GRØNMO: TIP TOP TIP
This project presents a frank and inventive approach to the interpretation of existing potential on the site. It proposes a robust, flexible plan by defining different rooms and atmospheres across the site. Its greatest strength however is the suggestion of some appropriate and convincing programs such as a dirt-bike track. This particular use resonates in conceptual, programmatic, and atmospheric terms as a low-maintenance landscape reminiscent of the roughness of the site’s immediate history.
The Jury was less convinced however by the articulation of the more detailed plans – which were largely unresolved, as well as the concept, function and design of the tower system across the site. A further concern was the extent to which the heavy and varied programming proposed would undermine the site’s coherency.
HONORABLE MENTION (2) OSLO GRØNMO: ACTIVE EDGE
This proposal greatly benefits from the clear idea of the perimeter necklace as the predominant spatial organizing device. The scheme challenges the given perimeter of the site by incorporating the golf course which is in fact an important element of the earlier waste-dump site. By concentrating circulation and programs along the perimeter, the scheme places less pressure on the densely piped interior. The edge offers both specificity and new identity to the site. Additionally, the loop as a device overcomes an apparent Norwegian aversion to dead end leisure routes. While this project was beautifully visualized, the scale and disposition of the architectural interventions, particularly the EcoDesign Center, were questioned, in addition to the potential for the project to be realized in small increments.
HONORABLE MENTION (3) OSLO GRØNMO: NORWEGIAN RHAPSODY
As a strong poetic statement this project provokes a vigorous debate of the site – in terms of its history and its future. In proposing the program of a cemetery, it is unsentimental and challenging as a concept. The scheme is particularly polemical in its implied placement of the human body within the same system of material and energy flows as the landfill itself. This suggests the possibility of both positively re-evaluating the value of such a territory, as well as reframing the body in its post-burial state. The scheme provides a convincing argument for this.
In addition to the positive aspect of raising these material/cultural/symbolic questions, a technical area of concern is the feasibility of placing burial plots in unstable and shifting ground as a result of settling landfill. Additionally, the scheme is somewhat undefined in terms of the development of spatial specificities in the different locations on the site. There were mixed opinions amongst the Jury over the visualizations of the project. While there was a general consensus that they were beautiful and evocative, there were some concerns expressed over their appropriateness in cultural and historical terms.
HONORABLE MENTION (4) OSLO GRØNMO: DO IT
This project was embraced for the strength of its programmatic approach. The Jury appreciated its temporary suspension of political-correctness associated with the automobile and its by-products – a starting point that led to a rich programmatic framework revolving to a large extent around car culture as a form of social binding agent capable of supporting collective ‘Re-Use’ experiences. Within this larger theme, a diversity of programs and users are suggested, ranging from a motorcenter for car repair, buddy parking and motorhome camping to Do-It-Yourself and cabin areas.
While provocative, inventive and potentially appropriate in terms of its programmatic approach, the scheme is limited by a lack of spatial articulation – both architecturally and in terms of landscape definition. This extends to a lack of consideration of the varied topological conditions of the site.
HONORABLE MENTION (5) OSLO GRØNMO: INFRASTRUCTURAL ARCHEOLOGY
This scheme is appreciated for its particular approach in evoking Grønmo’s history. By registering landfill depth across various locations on the site with poles erected to the corresponding height above the ground, the sheer scale of waste is experienced viscerally. Additionally, the use of the perimeter road as a key organizing and circulatory element suggests a fitting approach to organizing multiple programs. Less convincing is the viability of the full range of programs proposed across the site, as well as visualizations that were over-reliant on the exploitation of cultural clichés.
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November 28 2011
Deane Simpson (chairman) Belinda Tato Lisa Diedrich Tone Huse Helmut Meyer Agneta Hammer Lars Felberg Marianna Rentzou Mette Svanes Jan Jongert