Supervisor:
Erik Fenstad Langdalen
Nicholas Ryan Coates
This diploma explores a strategic approach to transforming non-protected buildings in the historic city centre of Oslo, Kvadraturen, with the primary goal of further activating the area. It is an exploratory study that relies on a comprehensive understanding of the area to identify common challenges and possibilities. These opportunities will be addressed through simple interventions in a selected group of buildings. My vision is that the principles behind these experiments can serve as examples of transforming other non-protected buildings in Kvadraturen, as well as providing flexible solutions for the more complex, protected ones, which often require a tailored approach. Furthermore, the insights from this diploma could be applicable to other areas facing similar challenges and opportunities.
Today, what is considered ideal and aesthetically pleasing is often the old classical architecture from before the 20th century, while buildings deemed unattractive or worthless are typically modern structures built after World War I. However, we cannot selectively decide which historic buildings to preserve. It is crucial to take these “unwanted” buildings seriously, as they form a significant part of Kvadraturen’s urban fabric. By reimagining the mostly introverted and often overlooked buildings, we can create spaces with new qualities and functions that complement the existing urban landscape. In my pre-diploma, I explored protected areas and the challenges of balancing future development with the preservation of cultural values. Further research led me to focus on non-protected buildings within protected areas (kulturmiljøer), an often overlooked opportunity.
These buildings are easier to transform, offering a more predictable process that can accelerate the reactivation of Kvadraturen.
Kvadraturen needs activity throughout all parts of the day, and residential housing may be the most crucial factor to initiate this. Currently, there are only 1260 inhabitants in the area. In this diploma, I have chosen to explore the potential for residential use combined with social programs, as these functions can both demand and support one another. However, simply adding housing will not be enough to further revitalize the area. Equally important is for example how the area is organized and how architectural interventions in the public space are addressed. This diploma does not aim to provide a comprehensive solution but instead focuses on interventions that can have the greatest impact.
Kvadraturen is a complex urban fabric, with buildings spanning five centuries, making it an almost stagnant and conflicted area, with stakeholders pushing their priority issues, ranging from cultural preservation to progressive evolution. One of the key factors contributing to its perception as an inert area is its fragmented ownership structure. While transforming a single building can have a limited impact on the area as a whole, collaboration among stakeholders and across multiple buildings holds the potential to achieve significantly greater results. This includes not only the improved qualities of individual buildings, but also their collective impact as nodes within Kvadraturen’s broader urban fabric.
This diploma presents a chronological, step-by-step method for approaching transformation. Rather than attempting to transform everything at once, the process unfolds gradually. By being realistic and responsive to demand, one could adapt more effectively and further accelerate the area’s activation.
The case study focuses on a cluster of four non-protected office buildings in the southwestern part of Kvadraturen, centered around a shared courtyard. Among the approximately 313 buildings in the area, 57 are non-protected, making this group particularly significant. The selected case study will illustrate how targeted interventions can activate both the buildings and the area.
STEP 1: Area Analysis
Centextual opportunities
Where is there a lack of avtivity? And therefore, where is the potential for reactivation
STEP 2: Neighbourhood Analysis
Relevant building data
Some areas have the potential of transformation, but can buildings work together? The next step present a broader analysis of all the non-protected buildings by mapping the opportunities of cooperation with surrounding buildings.
STEP 3: Facilitating change
Prepare top floor for housing, a floor which is often programmed with technical infrastructure.
Clear the basement for future use and relocate ventilation.
STEP 4: Activating with new program
Approximately 38 out of the 57 non-protected buildings have one or more setback floor. These floors, with more light, reduced depth and less noise, possess qualities that make them more ideal for residential use.
STEP 5: Creating common outdoor area
Some buildings have the potential for outdoor recreational areas on the roof, while others are unsuitable for accommodating heavy functions. However, through cooperation, they can share the various qualities each building offer, resulting in mutual benefits.
The structures allows for a natural division of the roof, each space supporting distinct programs and qualities, thereby enabling varied use throughout a longer period of the day.
STEP 6: Reprogramming space – Office to Housing
With the potential for increased demand over several years, housing could expand down to the penultimate floor and further through the middle floors.
STEP 7: Creating shared space
The first floor is often challenging to adapt for both housing and commercial functions. Therefore, as a mediator between private and public spaces, this floor is programmed with shared functions.
It could serve as a social space connected to the courtyard, as buildings in Kvadraturen often have their first floor at the same height. This allows programs on the first floor to make use of the courtyard space. If the demand is present, it could absorb more customer-facing functions.
And by being shared, one building could be provided a significant amount of shared space, as the entire floor is connected by a single corridor. A floor organized along a central corridor is a common feature throughout Kvadraturen and other areas, especially those with a high concentration of office spaces.
STEP 8: Reactivating Ground Floor
To create a node of activity, the spaces could be opened up to accommodate programs that align with the demand of the now transformed buildings and the area.
By introducing public passages that lead into the courtyard and through the block, these spaces become integrated into the urban fabric, fostering interactions between the public and more private spaces.
By offering spaces with different qualities than those often found in Kvadraturen, this transformation could become a new and distinct social node.
Contact
Jon Harald Røvik / jonharaldrovik@hotmail.com