Krystallen
Oslo - Norway

Krystallen is a proposed building next to Oslo Central Station. Its proposed under the same project as the new Oslo
Sentralstasjon designed by Space Group (http://www.spacegroup.no/index2.html) and won the competition between 4 international architect teams in June
2008. Original plan is that Krystallen will contain shops at its two first floors, while offices and a hotel will occupy its
reminding 11 floors. However, this building recieved a rather cold face from the jury that choose this winner and
suggests that Krystallen is been reduced in height.

Developer ROM Eiendom (http://www.romeiendom.no/) will finance the building and expect to start the construction in 2013 if approved.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y162/cityz/Urban/OsloS3smallKrystallenonly.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y162/cityz/Urban/OsloS3small.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y162/cityz/OsloSKrystallen1small.jpg

Cool! Like it!

Cool one!

Unfortunately, this one probably won't make it as Þróndeimr says. They always seem to come down on the conservative side of the initial forecasts. If they cut it down, it will be nothing special, really, it will loose it's "crystal" appearance, and I guess they will change the design.

My gut feeling says the 127m next to Posthuset has a better chance than this one. I'd give this 5% tops....

Which is a shame. I really think it's nice. :(

Edit: OK, not a shame that the 127m has a better chance, but the chance I'd give this one IS a shame...

Right! Not only will it be reduced in height, but it's shape will change drasticly aswell, since they want to keep the square... =)

no it would not be built. they don't have enough money... luckily (for me, i didn't like the placement!)

^^ did they figure that out now, news article somewhere?

So it will not be built at all? Or will it be redesign and reducted drastically in height as we expected it would do?

Ofcourse it will be built, it's still a long way ahead, but Rom has sent in the first planning initiative, and with it follows this new model-shot. Can anyone spot any changes? Krystallen looks reduced in height, i also think it looks like they have raised the height of Fjordporten:

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll218/Ingenioren/ssc-tegninger/Bearbeidetoslos.jpg

http://web102881.pbe.oslo.kommune.no/saksinnsyn/casedet.asp?mode=all&caseno=200902746

Not even ROM Eiendom expected Krystallen to be approved in its proposed state, so no surpirse there. Still looking ok. I rather want the U-highrise built than Krystallen really...

Agree, let's hope i'm right and they add the area cut from Krystallen to Fjordporten;) It will look so awesome walking down Karl Johan;D

Yes, it seems Krystallen now it's closer to where we can expect it to be. I'm not quite sure, but it seems that the U-highrise is a bit less of a U now than in the first render. Anyone else agree with this?

And for god's sake, can people start paying the 200 kroner a full membership at Photobucket costs, so we can drop this bandwidth nonsense!!!

Much less of an U, i like it a lot better now;D

Aftenposten feautures an article about Oslo S. Where they confirm that Krystallen is cut down half in size and lowered to be in the same height as the nabouring buildings ...

No word about Fjordporten, but the model in the paper - Spacegroup has mirrored the building, so it's tallest tower instead is closest to Postgirobygget instead of how it is in the model above, better for a cluster-feel in the area - so i hope it's another change they have made.

Yeah, and it seems as they've dropped the partly demolishion of Østbanehallen in favour of putting it inside one of the arches. Kind of weird, if you ask me. Eitherway, that leads them to keep the Ving/Ring I've expressed my hatred on earlier...:gaah:

^ It looks a little bit out of place, but never bothered me much... ;)

I have to say that the way Krystallen is proposed now, I'd rather they don't at all, and just keep the square open. I think I like it better the way it is now, actually.

This is sad, but not unexpected. :(

I think I like it better the way it is now,

With all the drugusers?

^ The drugusers have been there for so long, they are probably preserved by Riksantikvaren:)

Definatly not better now. This area has enough Squares, the 2 new "streets" is one of the better parts of the new station, and Krystallen will still look cool, very much looking forward to this. Don't really see why they had to lower it tough, there are 3 highrises in the other end of Jernbanetorget, this would fit in very well. Only sader thing is Trafikanten tower that i like very much will be removed, i wish they would keep it.

With all the drugusers?

No (http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/artikkel.php?artid=563164).

BTW: Somebody please scan? I haven't bought Aftenposten today

Edit: Fixed the link

^ They will remove them all except from Jernbanetorget ;D I have no scanner, unfortunatly...

We have to learn from the swedes, the situation today is horrible...

Interesting article in Aftenposten. Too bad they lowered the height of Kristallen, but I’m sure the new design will be cool too. Surprised it didn’t feature a render, though.


Only sader thing is Trafikanten tower that i like very much will be removed, i wish they would keep it.

Really? I guess it’s okay, but I can’t say I’m sad that it’s going either. I hope they will keep the Tiger statue, though.

Who says that Trafikanten tower will be removed?It will be a BIG mistake! Where is Byantikvaren???

Maybe this thread should be closed since this no longer is a highrise, or rename it to "Fjordporten" ..

^ It was mentioned last year during the competition...

Maybe they should put traffikanten on top of Krystallen....

But seriously; I don't get what Krystallen brings to that area. It creates two "streets" where used to be an open square. And it is more or less just a normal building the way it's presented now. It adds nothing.

Well, OK; that's not true, it does add badly needed floor space. But except for that, it adds nothing. Maybe with cool cladding. But my initial reaction to it now (and perhaps that is because I know it's history) is a building with a broken spirit that has been forced to conform.

It's still a nice piece of architecture, and smaller streets add more urbanity themselves, and i guess there will be shops at 1. floor, anything else would be madness:nuts:

But seriously; I don't get what Krystallen brings to that area. It creates two "streets" where used to be an open square. And it is more or less just a normal building the way it's presented now. It adds nothing.

Well, OK; that's not true, it does add badly needed floor space.

Rather two new streets than a open square. We well get a lot of squares and allmeninger in Bjørvika so it doesnt bother me.

Is floorspace so badly needed, this days?

There is always a need for floorspace close to such a big hub as Oslo S/Jernbanetorget.

And I find nothing to keep in Jernbanetorgets upper part. It's ugly, crowded with drugusers, and it's randomly elevated, making it less integrated with the area. And of course they will keep the tiger! It's even placed on the lower part of Jernbanetorget, which they're not doing anything with.

The tiger is back in place, and Jernbanetorget looks so much better now :) The new smaller uppersquare (between Krystallen and Stasjonsalleen i am curious to how it will be. Would be so cool if it would be turned into a Tokyo-lightshow of commercials and big screens, that would be an entrance worthy of our city, not to mention it could bring in a little money aswell.. :D

It's still a nice piece of architecture, and smaller streets add more urbanity themselves, and i guess there will be shops at 1. floor, anything else would be madness:nuts:

In addition to shops, I guess they will have to make room for a new tourist-info...

Yes, and Trafikanten aswell, i didn't think about that!

The tiger is back in place, and Jernbanetorget looks so much better now :) The new smaller uppersquare (between Krystallen and Stasjonsalleen i am curious to how it will be. Would be so cool if it would be turned into a Tokyo-lightshow of commercials and big screens, that would be an entrance worthy of our city, not to mention it could bring in a little money aswell.. :D

I’ve been thinking that too! They should make the whole area at the end of Karl Johans gate/in front of Oslo S our answer to Times Square, Dundas Square, Shibuya crossing etc. Not very Scandinavian, maybe …;)

Who says that Trafikanten tower will be removed?It will be a BIG mistake! Where is Byantikvaren???

Maybe this thread should be closed since this no longer is a highrise, or rename it to "Fjordporten" ..

According to them, anything built after 1960 is not worth preserving. Just look at what they think about the Oslo Plaza add-on. :ohno:

I think they both could and should make room for trafikanten. There's plenty of space, so they don't have any real reason to remove it other than that they possibly don't like it. I think it's cool. It has such a raw commercial expression with all the neon lights and stuff that you rarely see in Oslo. If they're going to tear down all the early 80's buildings in the area, they might as well keep one tiny reminder of what the area used to be.

Rather two new streets than a open square. We well get a lot of squares and allmeninger in Bjørvika so it doesnt bother me.

Is floorspace so badly needed, this days?
It's not because we don't have enough squares, it's because this is the main entrance to the main railway station in Oslo. It should be open and clear where you are wherever you exit, and if you've never been there before and exit behind Krystallen, you'll lack overview. If you come in from the front and have never been there before, it will not be immediately obvious that the entrance is in a back alley. Unless of course they plan to make the old Østbanehallen the main entrance, in which case I cannot imagine how this reconstruction will increase passenger capacity. I suppose that is what architects refer to when they talk about "readability" of a building. It should be a pretty important consideration in this case. I'm not saying things are perfect the way they are now, but this is not an improvement.

So if they must take that place, use it wisely. Not like this. This is a waste.

They will use Østbanehallen for different exhibitions/cultural stuff, if I remember correctly. More people will use the Christian Fredriks plass entrance, and the path to the subway is just as important, I guess. It's not like it's so readable today either, Oslo S is a shopping-mall between stasjonshallen and Jernbanetorget.

True that. But when you enter the way it is now, at least you'll know you're on the right track; there is a wide indoor alley with shops on each side, the natural way is forward. This solution will make things worse.

And all the £¡@¥½¡ @$£← /&% jurors seem to care about is an arbitrarily set height limit.

I don't think it will be a problem spotting the main entrance, it's almost like a continuation of Karl Johan:

http://media.aftenposten.no/archive/00788/OSLO_S_0001121362_b_788424a.jpg

And ofcourse people will use Østbanehallen entrance like they do, and i always do now. Old habits :D

How many floor has Fjordporten?

It had 23 floors when they did the uncut pre-project, but the reworked looks a bit different, so i don't know any more - looks taller to me... Any guesses?

Before:
http://architecturelab.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/space_group_oslo_train_04.jpg

After:
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll218/Ingenioren/ssc-tegninger/Bearbeidetoslos.jpg

^^

I finally got hold of Aftenposten from this saturday, and according to the model there it looks like they are on version 3 of Fjordporten. It looks different from the model above anyway. The two towers looked like they had a similar height (although the north tower probably was taller), the sides of the building had an outward curve rather than the straight line above, and the building looked more like the letter U than in the picture above.

^^ True. Its more alike the original render in shape. The north tower is definitely taller. In relation to Posthuset I would guess the north tower is 100 meters and the south tower around 90, maybe.

^ I tought maybe 80-90 meters tall - i like it better with the tallest tower to the north :D It's like these guys don't do anything else than build models that are slightly different... :) Would be fun if they browsed this page, they would have a laugh at our expense. Mad was here i remember, these guys should hang out here and give us some juice stuff and first hand opinions...

^^You might be right. It’s not easy to tell from the angle of the picture in Aftenposten. I agree that the tallest tower will look best nearest Posthuset, so it creates a cluster of the tallest buildings in the back.

Would be great if they were here to give us some details, yes. Mad posted something here? Cool.

^ You should btw. check out these, if you haven't. Presentations of large Oslo projects form this fall. They are very interesting:
http://www.stalguiden.com/NFSstaldag2008.htm

^^Thanks for the link. I had seen some of it, but not everything.

I see that the presentation of Oslo S includes MAD´s vision for Schweigaards gate by Galleri Oslo. I really hope this becomes reality. But have there been any other proposals for where to move the bus terminal than MAD´s over the railway tracks? The placement of their proposal doesn’t seem possible with the “tunnels” that are planned from the pedestrian bridge to the platforms.

^ We know that it's being planned a busterminal over Oslo S, earlier there has been signals that the best location is over the tracks that ends at Oslo S in the south (13-19 - i think), but have no idea how they will solve it yet... Atleast those ramps leading down to the plattform are not ordered yet as far as i know, i guess they will not be either before a decission has been made... We have discussed it a few pages back in the Bg14 tread, and i posted links to studies regarding different placements of the busterminal there...