The “Haugen” project is a proposal by Control New Arkitektur (ctrl+n) in order to start a discussion on how to make better use of the public spaces in Oslo, Norway all year round. So they are here to pose two questions. Firstly, how can we maintain such use throughout the rest of the year? Secondly, how can we offer some much needed rehearsal and performance space back to the city? This proposal will engage and evoke through taking us back to our parks all year round. More images and architects’ description after the break.
Norway is well known for its long summer days, the almost euphoric festival atmosphere in its city parks, with barbeques burning day and night to the sound of live music floating through the trees on a summer breeze. We suddenly fall from our winter slumber into our shorts and t-shirts and into our parks, where we celebrate the beautiful but all too short Norwegian summer.
If you were one of the very few to venture out into our parks this winter you will have certainly enjoyed some solitude, but our ambition is to maintain the park as a community space all year round. This proposal, set in the heart of St. Hans Haugen will act as a positive addition to the existing context, it will not fight with or compete with the existing stage or the surrounding nature.
The concept of the opening box creates both internal and external spaces which allows for multi climatic usage, enclosing us in the winter and creating a much needed barrier to the elements. in the summer the box opens up to reveal itself as a larger stage sitting alongside the surrounding nature as the box transforms from a solid element into a ceiling in the sky.
The proposal will accomodate for known and upcoming musicians to rehearse and to perform. It will host theatre, dance productions and art exhibitions. It will also double as a usable space for local schools and kindergartens. In addition to this, the lower level of the project will house a restaurant and bar combined with an art gallery and a smaller performance space.
Architect: Control New Arkitektur (ctrl+n) Project team: Johnathon Lloyd Little (architect), Erik Brett Jacobsen (architect), Andreas Nypan (landscape architect) Location: Oslo, Norway
