Barents Secretariat Tower / Reiulf Ramstad Architects
Reiulf Ramstad Architects have high hopes for Norway. The firm has designed a 16-17 storey tall wooden cultural center in Kirkenes, Norway that will surpass the current tallest wooden structure which stands 144 feet tall in Arkhangelsk, Russia. The Norwegian Barents Secretariat hopes their tower will ”serve as a physical symbol of their important role in the High North – a lighthouse of sorts and a beacon of knowledge and development.”
More about the tower after the break.
The tower incorporates environmental ideas as it is built with natural recycled materials and uses integrated systems that allow the structure to adapt to the changing seasons to achieve carbon neutrality. Biodegradable household and industrial waste will be reused as biogas.
Inside the tower, energy-efficient offices will serve the Barents Secretariat and the cultural center will include a library, theater and provide a “creative environment” for all users.
The tower will dominate its surroundings and yet provide a unifying space to welcome artists, students and all in the area. The structure aims to “serve as an example of sustainable construction for the surrounding region while acting as a center for cooperation between Russians, Finns, Swedes, Saamis and Norwegians.”
As seen on Inhabitat.
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20 comments »
Is it going to have a halo in real life?
yes, apparently it is generated by its sense of eco-smugness.
what the heck?
i think that was on the christmas card i sent my mother
I think the idea of vertical cultural facility is quite interesting especially for a site like this one….
though the SANAA project in New York seems to me a bit squized and forced inbetween the buildings..but this beautiful site in Norway is a much more inspiring place to put people and exhibiton high in the sky….
I would say though that the “BOX”-y aspect of this project here is a bit too urban for a poetic location such us this where maybe a better iconic status would have been achieved if they have searched some echo with the local architecture..I would give an example with Eric Van Egeerat who has done a project in Copenhaggen which seems too me quite brutal, but as well very sensible to the context..but anyway..it will be interesting to see this one built…
Once again, I think the renderings make the design appear worse than it really is; the idea of ambitious construct’s in wood – of the vertical sort – is a good one, however.
Is it just me or does this building seem quite out of scale? Especially when looking at the section? My understanding was that Norway had quite a resistant approach to building huge buildings and when I see this project, I cant help to imagine what the people of Kirkenes will think about it? I would think twice before introducing such an alien object into this little towns context.
I also have to admit, I immediately become suspicious when a building is marketed with its height…
Scale aside. The idea is already dated. Good examples of this type of project exist all over the world, and none of them are aging well.
Care to name (and link to) some examples htx75qr8? The only ones I know of are quite a bit lower and not yet old enough to say anything about their ageing process. In other words you talk the talk but do you walk the walk? ;)
Dont Get it ? Just like IPMan Said this project will not age well. It doesnt make sense just like these sky planters http://www.trigeia.com/article.php?id=95503 LOL
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…..are you kidding, this is outrageous, look at the context, where’s Prince Charles when you need him?
Any comments from your Prince Charles, or any other foreigner, would not be of interest to us.
the structural elements are really in timber? and a mixed use building too? the fire code in Norway is way ahead of other parts of the world
We have always built our houses in wood here in Norway and we continue to do so. Your cultural ignorance is interesting, you’re just not used to it I guess.
Yes, even the structural elements.
My all-wood house is nothing to be laughed at, no fires or integrity problems since its construction in 1860.
I mean at that height, there must be some other element for fire protection to e.g. exit staircase or main sturcture
The building has nothing to do with the setting. It si completely an alien to the site. THe overall is a typical repetition of trends in vertical buildings and does not suggest a new approach. SUch a unique peacefull landscape desrves a better architecture in my opinion.
Thank you
really…in this context. This building looks like a design for a large city…not this ‘village’
Your belittling tells me all I need to know about you and your LACK of knowledge with regards to Norway, the Arctic and this city.
Waht is beautiful is the way different cultural backgrounds read architecture in other parts of their world. They may end up judging incorrectly, but it is still intersting to look at their readings. Architecture today is a global language. On this site we can also read a single project in a single context that we can see through few photos and drawings only, and this may be misleading sometimes. Being said, as an architect, one can point out things that he reflect his own vision and own architectural preferences.
Wgile the material selection on this job is appropriate, the overall volume is out of scale compared to the context.
We have seen in some workhops with architects from Switzerland and Sweden examples of a more context-sensitive architecture that is easily blending with the surrounding, and I guess those were more succefull models in terms of contextual approach, than waht we see here.
Thank you
It seems odd to be to build this tall in a small place like Kirkenes. I’m wondering if there is Murmansk and Kiruna envy (the two closest, and larger, cities, which both have high rise buildings galore).
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