Campus Kvadraturen
How to Create a Modern School Building in a Historic Context?
TYPE OF PROJECT: School
LOCATION: Kirkegata 23 -25, Kvadraturen, Oslo
CLIENT: AVA eiendom AS
SIZE: ca. 10.000 m2 BRA
TIMEFRAME: 2019 - 2024
STATUS FOR PROJECT: Detailing stage
Kristiania University College’s new building sprawls like a tree of knowledge, creating a spectacular internal atrium within its core. Its façade is a clear break in a row of historic facades from the days of King Christian IV. Generous window niches adorn the ground floor, where the bustling life of the tree of knowledge welcomes people in from the city streets. There is a long term plan for making Kirkegata a shared-use street, and the dynamic student atmosphere will inspire to new life and activity around the clock in this neighborhood.
Historic Deference
The Kvadraturen neighborhood has played a central role in the history of Oslo. After the city fire of 1624, King Christian IV decided to build the new capital around the Akershus Fortress. For several centuries, this city block grid was the center of the capital. As the city sprawled into new urban centers, Kvadraturen slowly transitioned into a business area that was mostly quiet after office hours.
Originally, Kirkegata 23–25 consisted of two buildings. Over time, the façades of these two buildings merged together, and there was little left of the original architecture. In the process of planning the new campus building, it has been important to revitalize the two-piece façade. Furthermore, the classic subdivisions of the adjacent buildings has been carried on, with a bridge section with rhythmic patterns. And a variety of building widths breaks up an otherwise rational façade geometry.
It has been important to make the context and the surrounding buildings the starting point for the design, while still keeping in mind the fact that we are building in a new age, with all its possibilities. Wooden benches in the window splays inspire to social activity and give the façade a more active expression. The recessed top floor tones down the vertical visual impact of the building from the street level, and allows a variation of exterior spaces on the rooftop.
Organic Structure
The interior is built as a tree of knowledge, shaped like a large internal wood-clad atrium staircase that winds organically up the floors. The social activities are placed in the zones facing the atrium, while classrooms are placed screened-off near the exterior walls to provide them with optimal daylight conditions. Continuing the tree metaphor, a wooden crown sprawls over the roof, where green plants adorn the roof terraces. Similarly, the top roots dig through the walls and create social zones on the street level. The deep roots are entrenched in the ground level, where a striking auditorium reveals itself. Here we find the root of the knowledge.
Infusing Kvadraturen with new Life
Kirkegata will be turned into a shared-use street. Opening the ground level up for public activity, where the whole urban fabric would be invited in, was a primary condition. From several angles, the generous windows will reveal the spectacular atrium to the outside and help it become a social attraction.
Campus Kvadraturen will become the link between the existing locations in Kvadraturen, where the university college already has several buildings. It will be possible to enter Kongens gate 22 and exit on Kirkegata 23–25, with further links to Kirkegata 24–26 on the other side of the street. As a consequence, the students will have the opportunity to move easily between locations, further increasing the activity in an area that is currently mostly quiet after office hours.
Environmental Aspects
The building will be classified as a BREEAM Excellent building, with strict requirements for materials and solutions. An interior courtyard in the backyard will establish a green link of plants to the roof terrace on the seventh floor, were sedum will be planted for rainwater management purposes.