The big Fjordcity thread!

[NorthStar77]

Some time ago Christian started a thread about the developements in Bjørvika, and I continued on writing a few words on the fjordcity-projects in general. This was under news-subsection, and wasn't noticed by many of our S&B members. And I think it wasn't of much interest among non S&B members.

So therefore I'm creating a thread about it here at our lovely S&B forum, where it belongs

Fjordcity is a coordination of projects involving the shoreline of Oslo, and there are indeed many huge plans! Here is a map showing all the areas that are under the fjorcity:



This one shows more in detail:


Here are the official english presentation of the projects: http://www.oslo.technopole.no/fjordcity/

From the site:
"Oslo is embarking on its most adventurous harbour renewallproject ever, as a string of waterfront properties in the heart of the city are put up for sale and rezoned for urban developement. Among the port capitals of Europe, Oslo stands alone in undertaking such a comprehensive revitalization of its downtown waterfront. The aim is to reconnect the city with the sea, providing residents and visitors alike with a unique and sustainable quality of life.

Fulfilling the vision of Oslo as the Fjord City will help meet the city's need for more housing, buisness, recreation and cultural space, as well as improving and concentrating Oslo's commercial port.

The total Fjord City area comprises 225 hectares, from Frognerstranda to the west to Ormsund in the southeast. Sale of these prime waterfront properties commenced in 2003 and will run through the end of the decade"

Tjuvholmen is the project in Fjordcity that has developed furthest, and has now it's own thread here.

[NorthStar77]

First, I will tell you about the plans for Bjørvika, the biggest project in Fjordcity, and it contains much of the most exiting
citydevelopement in Oslo at the moment. This alone is the biggest urban project in the history of Norway, after
danish/norwegian king Christian IV founded the new Christiania (now Oslo) some ~350 years ago.

The area called Bjørvika includes the three bays Bjørvika, Bispevika and Lohavn. Bjørvika has for many years been dominated
by barriers dividing the city and the fjord. Barriers like motorways, railroads, and closed off harbor-areas. Size of the
area: 69,7 hectares.

From fjordcity site: "Bjørvika will be the site of Oslo's new national opera house, with construction well underway and
scheduled to be completed in 2007. The opera house was created by the Norwegian architect firm Snøhetta, also responsible
for design of the internationally acclaimed library in Alexandria, Egypt. Key to the realisation of the vision for Bjørvika is
the rerouting of the motorway in a tunnel below the fjord. Two plans, one for the motorway tunnel and one for subsequent
urban development, were approved by the City Council in August 2003."

The planning of this area have been going on for no less than 10 years! It will be built 960.000 squaremeters in total, 450.000
for residence. This will give room for 4-5000 dwellings when finished. Plans include a cable car up to Ekeberg and the
functionalist-style Ekeberg restaurant, currently under restauration, as well as a new aquarium.

Some early proposals included 12 buildings with 25 floors, or even more!! This caused a massive debate on the subject, but
this debate has somewhat died out (Eventhough the highrise-report concerning all of Oslo's highrise strategy has
yet to be aproved..this I will deal with in another thread). The final proposals, aproved by city council 27'th august 2003,
included 16 floors as a max, IIRC.

Okay, time for some images.

First, the situation today:



These are all just renderings showing heights, buildingvolumes, and streetpattern.







As seen from Ekeberg restaurant:
















Nylands Alle and Operastreet:




The future skyline(don't mind the asphalt in front, it will be developed aswell):


There are many other illustrations, and they all exist in huge format too, most of them 1.2 MB big, so I wont post them.

The Opera hotel, and a office-building next to it is finished already. The opera is under construction. It will be finished in 2007, and ready
for opening in 2008. A live webcam of it here:


The work on rerouting the motorway tunnel below the fjord will start next year, but will unfortunately not be finished
for the opening of the opera.

Furthermore, the areas along the railroadtracks will be the areas first to be developed. There was an architect competition
for the area, and a team of arhitects from MVRDV, a-lab, and DARK-arkitekter, won with their "BARCODE" project.
They will be engaged to work further with the area. This project will be realized in 2007.

The entire area is planned to be finished in 2017(!), and if(when) the area becomes valuable enough, the railroadtracks
gradually will be covered, enabling builindings to be built there.

[John]

The scale is pretty huge!
but why so few highrises? If just buildings would be a bit taller this could become pretty much like small Manhattan

[NorthStar77]

Originally Posted by John

The scale is pretty huge!
but why so few highrises? If just buildings would be a bit taller this could become pretty much like small Manhattan

Yes, because the cost of construction in some of these areas will be quite expencive, some proposals included many highrises. The demands for dwellings are certainly there, and they argued that building buildings over 25 floors would make better profit. But the reality is that a majority of the population (and so also the politicians deciding it) do not want a "manhattan". Infact "Oslo will never become like Manhattan" was said many times during these debates.

[NorthStar77]

Some more details for Bjørvika.

Yellow - pedestrian paths, red - bicyckle path, green - parks


Amount of traffic 2002, number of veichles per day:


Projected traffic in 2015:


Level of noise in 2002


Level of noise in 2015:


The motorway-tunnel:


Public transport:
Blue - tram, blue with dots - possible trams, green - citybus, yellow - regionbus, small blue dots - boats, grey - cable car


Promenade:


3 bays:


Areas under construction in 2004:


Areas under construction in 2006:


Areas under construction in 2008:


Areas under construction in 2010:


Areas under construction in 2012:


Areas under construction in 2014:


When finished in 2017:

[michau]

Thank you for this thread. I really like such projects. "Wasteland" transformed into a nice human-friendly part of the city. Could it be better? There are many waterfront projects in Stockholm too. But they are located at the outskirts of the downtown (the central areas are already built-up). In Oslo those new projects will probably change the entire image of the city, which is quite fascinating.

[designwise]

That area is massive. I remember seeing it on my trips to Oslo. The Fjordcity plans look nice but as mentioned prev. the buildings could be a tad bit taller !

[tournesol]

Thannx for another interesting thread.
Too bad that the original height propossals didn't go through. Damn...
But otherwise it look's very promissing. It'll be great to get the city reconnected to the water. It's certainly is a huge barrier as it is now.
The underwater motorway is an impressive project. I'm not surprised that it'll be impossible to get finished untill 2008.
Btw, a few days ago I read in a danish newspaper that the operaproject has big financial problems and might get delayed. I don't know if this is correct, but it might end so that motorwaytunnel and operahouse its finished at the same time afterall...

[NorthStar77]

Thanks for all replies so far! I will deal with the other projects later on in this thread, but first more on Bjørvika.

Originally Posted by michau

In Oslo those new projects will probably change the entire image of the city, which is quite fascinating.

Indeed. The "gravity" of downtown will be moved sorta, and will change Oslo forever!

Originally Posted by designwise

The Fjordcity plans look nice but as mentioned prev. the buildings could be a tad bit taller !

Yeah, if there is one area that is fit for highrises in this city, then this is IT! Located very centrally in the middle of the city, right next to the biggest transport hub in Norway, and along those tracks, where very little is worth preserving. The main reason they lowered the maximum height, was to ensure that the buildings wouldn't block too much of the view to the sea and Akershus fortress from certain points. But, IIRC the volume to be built will be the same. IMHO some slimmer 25-floors would block the view less than some massive 16-floorers! Damn, why don't the incompetent politicians see that?

Here are some renderings made to see how the buildings will effect the current cityscape.
From Grønland:


From Grünerløkka:


From Karl Johan street:

Originally Posted by tournesol

Btw, a few days ago I read in a danish newspaper that the operaproject has big financial problems and might get delayed. I don't know if this is correct, but it might end so that motorwaytunnel and operahouse its finished at the same time afterall...
Yesterday 11:56 PM

Hmm, that may have been the financing of the tunnel, acctually. There are some discussions on how big a share should be payed by the city and how much by the goverment. I think the financing of the opera is not a topic of discussion anymore.

[NorthStar77]

Some more info about the Opera.

Snøhetta(the architects) has described the project in the following thoughts:

- Connecting land and sea, a public platform rises from the fjord
- A sculpted landscape veils a direct functional solution
- Landmark quality is obtained through a memorable yet discreet silhouette
- The platform meets the water, renewing coastal conditions in the city center
- Elements of earth, fire, air and water capture distinct spaces
- Soft versus hard describe indoors from out

A sloping roof surface has been designed that rises directly from beneath the fjord. It is designed
with fractures, stairs, the stage roof surfaces and the stage towers as defining features to the
vast platform that can be traversed from the sea to the uppermost levels by the visitor.
Together with the vertical movement, the diagonal lines create a convincing composition that, at
the same time, is humble, adapted to the scale of the city, distinctive and unique in the
city landscape. It forms an extension of the landscape surrounding the city and is
not clearly distinguishable as either building or ground.

Here are some illustrations made by Snøhetta:








Snøhetta also want the opera and its roof to be an eldorado for skaters

[Þróndeimr]

Great thread, the opera building is a great expensive art construction, im not sure i like it too mutch, but never mind.

Great that they finally starting to develope the bjoervika area. The area is situated to close to downtown, and makes Oslo look even more ugly with this huge container area in downtown. This ais a area to mady davelope a low skyline who fitts perfectly to Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel and Posthuset. But, sad they didn't approve any taller that 14 floors, i would easly see 20 floors comming up, maby 30 floor right in front of Posthuset were the Oslo Atrium and Rainbow hotel is situated.

[NorthStar77]

Originally Posted by Christian

Great thread, the opera building is a great expensive art construction, im not sure i like it too mutch, but never mind.

Great that they finally starting to develope the bjoervika area. The area is situated to close to downtown, and makes Oslo look even more ugly with this huge container area in downtown. This ais a area to mady davelope a low skyline who fitts perfectly to Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel and Posthuset. But, sad they didn't approve any taller that 14 floors, i would easly see 20 floors comming up, maby 30 floor right in front of Posthuset were the Oslo Atrium and Rainbow hotel is situated.

But 16 floors is aproved, not 14! It was the most debated issue in Oslo city council when they aproved this plan at 27'th august 2003. Ap and Frp wanted 19 floors, and SV, V, Krf, RV, and H(wanted 20 but settled for 16 for diplomatic reasons) went for 16 floors: http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/ir...icle613536.ece

However, the originally proposal conained 25 along the railroadtrack, wich would be much better, IMO.
"Området får stigende byggehøyder fra 4-6 etasjer mot fjorden, til 8-12 etasjer langs hovedgatene og fra 13 til 25etasjer mot sporområdet"

The original proposal as of 24th march 2003: http://www.bjorvika-info.no/site.asp...089}&s=regplan

[designwise]

This area is massive. This kind of reminds me of the Jätkäsaari project in Helsinki except this area is more centrally located. I love the plans for the new opera house. It'll definately be a great new landmark for the city of Oslo.

[NorthStar77]

I cut out two parts from the large image showing how far the developements will have come in 2007. I must stress once more that this only illustrate buildingheigths and volumes.





I find it weird however, that I have not been able to find any proposal for these buildings. The building to the right of "Bispelokket", the elevated roundabout, is due to start construction this year, according to the 2004-rendering showed earlier.



All detailed renderings can be found here (site in Norwegian):
http://www.bjorvika-info.no/site.asp...4105}&s=presse

http://www.bjorvika-info.no/site.asp...9589}&s=presse


And less detailed images, maps, and interactive panoramas can be found here:
http://www.bjorvika-info.no/site.asp...-C7D9B7F0C333}

[NorthStar77]

I'll now deal with some of the smaller areas of the Fjordcity, some that there are not much developed plans for yet.

Loenga 7,51 hectares


Loenga is the name of one of Oslo's oldest cultural historical area - Among them the mideval ruins wich I presented in my "Gamle Oslo" thread. The area is of high importance for goods-traffic by rail.

Future use of the area is still uncertain. There has been made a scetch with 200 dwellings, but the design of this area depends on the future highspeed rail-line between Oslo and Ski(a suburb).


Kongshavn 13,24 hectares


Kongshavn is today an important harbor. In the future it can be used to residential, commercial and recreational purposes. This seems now more possible, as it is decided that ferryterminals will not move here. A final decition still depends on a final location of a container-terminal. Unstable soil can be a complicating factor.



Sjursøya 37,47 hectares



Sjursøya is today the most important oilterminal in eastern Norway. Large storagefacilities for petroleum products have been constructed in the rock under Ekebergåsen. Up until 2012, container-activites will consentrate into this area. A consequense of this is that they need to expand the island with 665 x 25 meters towards the south, as well as filling in the sea between the island and the mainland.




Ormsund-Bekkelaget 15,68 hectares



Ormsund-Bekkelaget is the southernmost part of Fjordcity. The area is dominated by a modern container-harbor. The area has been sugested to be changed to residential and commercial (as if it was a surprise )

There has been made a scenario for the area, but they are kinda vague:




Well these were perhaps the most uninteresting parts of the Fjordcity, but I felt like presenting them nonetheless. Next post in this thread will be more exiting.

[Þróndeimr]

Originally Posted by NorthStar77

But 16 floors is aproved, not 14! It was the most debated issue in Oslo city council when they aproved this plan at 27'th august 2003. Ap and Frp wanted 19 floors, and SV, V, Krf, RV, and H(wanted 20 but settled for 16 for diplomatic reasons) went for 16 floors: http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/ir...icle613536.ece

However, the originally proposal conained 25 along the railroadtrack, wich would be much better, IMO.
"Området får stigende byggehøyder fra 4-6 etasjer mot fjorden, til 8-12 etasjer langs hovedgatene og fra 13 til 25etasjer mot sporområdet"

The original proposal as of 24th march 2003: http://www.bjorvika-info.no/site.asp...089}&s=regplan

ok, but im really surprized that V and RV was agreed for 16 floors, thouse two politican parties is most agains high-rise buildings in Oslo and every where in Norway. They have clearly say'd that they is against all high-rise buildings over 15 floors in the Bjoervika area. I didn't think they was agreed with the plann of building high-rise up to 16 floors in the Bjoervika area. But miracles does happend...luckly!!

[NorthStar77]

/\ Yeah, but you know politics is about compromising. Høyre(Conservatives) wanted 20 floors, and Venstre(Liberals) wanted as low as possible, so I guess they agreed on something in between. Too bad Venstre(not the same as Venstre in Denmark btw ) is the most anti-highrise party. Their politics really is the best, except for on this area.

[tournesol]

Thanks for showing us the southern areas of Fjordcity, NorthStar.
Not many actual plans yet, but surely a lot of potential...

[Oberleutnant]

Very interesting, especially because the exact same thing is going to happen to Hki's harbours, too. Okay, I won't continue my Finland spaming anymore.

Thanks for all the information! I would've certainly missed the whole project if you had not told about it. The scale is pretty huge, but judging by these renders the general plan looks nice. It's very urban and city-like.

[NorthStar77]

Originally Posted by Oberleutnant

Very interesting, especially because the exact same thing is going to happen to Hki's harbours, too. Okay, I won't continue my Finland spaming anymore.

Thanks for all the information! I would've certainly missed the whole project if you had not told about it. The scale is pretty huge, but judging by these renders the general plan looks nice. It's very urban and city-like.

I wouldn't consider it spamming I, and probably others, would be happy to hear about such plans!

About it being urban; yeah! Bjørvika will sort of become a new part of downtown.

I have not told about all projects here yet, but I will hopefully have time soon. The weather has been so insanely good lately that I've prefered beeing outdoors (I even got sunburned yesterday)