Project:
Hip Hubs

About

• Project description

  HAUGESUND 2011/2016

  In the next 5 years we expect Haugesund to become a key cultural centre at national level and an up-coming tourist attraction along the Fjord coast. In parallel, it is forecasted that it will strengthen its petro-maritime financial growth.

  In order to accomplish these expectations, the city centre needs to be re-activated according to the following strategies:

  1. REINFORCEMENT OF CONNECTIVE ROUTES: EAST-WEST LINKS ACROSS THE CITY CENTRE

  The connections between the sea front and Flotmyr will be reinforced along Skjoldavegen, Torggata and Kaigata, healing up the wounds caused by the intrusive effects of cars and restoring the street as a place for play and social interactions. We propose a network of public spaces bridging over a high-speed traffic Flotmyr by-pass that will provide links between the new pedestrianized Green Karmsundgata and Flotmyr. 

  2. REINFORCEMENT OF CONNECTIVE ROUTES: ZIP-RING AROUND THE CITY CENTRE

  A green ring will zip existing green areas to the extended sea promenade, promoting pedestrian and cycling connections along 3.5km. In order to generate a coherent public space for walking and exercising, we propose a continuous route along wide paving with tree lines and a network of former derelict sites turned into green events. Consistent streetscape and furniture design will improve the quality of key pedestrian routes.

  3. INITIAL CONSOLIDATION OF URBAN TISSUE: HIP-HUB STRATEGY

  The Hip Hub is a unit that combines building with an enclosed public space: a solid and a void. The hub strategy is used both in the city centre and Flotmyr, adjusting its scale, uses, and life span: In the city centre a number of Hip Hubs will be built in derelict sites. This allows quick recovery of the facade frontage at a low cost, providing enclosed public spaces that complement the use of an adjacent building. In the Flotmyr development, the Hip Hubs constitute the core of a cluster of buildings, and become versatile spaces that can be transformed to accommodate social activities.

  HAUGESUND 2016/2030

  By 2030 Haugesund will help Norway to find its role in a post-oil global economy, taking advantage of the strong coastal winds and tidal power to keep its strength as one of the major energy exporters in the world. Norway is also expected to make the most of the coast along the North Sea, which will become an important national asset from a research, touristic and maritime transportation point of view. The Hip-Hubs strategy will allow for a sustainable growth of both the city centre and the Flotmyr development, together with an expansion of the Zip-Ring that links blue and green.

• Jury remarks

  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 to weave existing leftover urban spaces into proposes 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.

• Team

  Ana Moriyon
  Marta Granda Nistal
  Gonzalo Coello de Portugal

  Contact information:
  www.binom.co.uk