Trehusrekka
How to signal the atmosphere of a brand new neighborhood with a row of houses?
TYPE OF PROJECT: Transformation
LOCATION: Lilleaker, Oslo
CLIENT: Mustad Eiendom
SIZE: 10 000 m2 GFA
TIMEFRAME: 2017–
PROJECT STATUS: Planning stage
One day in the future, as your train passes Lysaker Station, a modern greenhouse will light up Trehusrekken (The Wooden House Row) as lies there with its toes almost dipping in the Lysakerelven river. Treshusrekken is a new restaurant concept that, with its modern but historic wooden house design, will signal how Lillakerbyen is going to grow. This is the neighborhood in which Mustad established its factories over 100 years ago, and which is now going to be rebuilt as an active new neighborhood for the next 100 years. Trehusrekken will become the food and drink center that the neighborhood has been missing for so long. Narrow openings between the buildings will open up the river course and present visitors with the rich plant and animal life that is present in Lilleaker.
Revitalizing
The goal was to revitalize the river and its waterfall and crossing bridge. Today, the row of houses beneath the Møllefossen waterfall consists of the old turbine building, a series of warehouses and the manager’s residence. The manager’s residence and the turbine building are not preservation worthy, but will be preserved as conveyors of history.
The latter was designed by Arnstein Arneberg and will be restored according to the original drawings. A modern greenhouse has been drawn in, with glass walls that will make the daily and nightly activities inside visible. Vegetables and herbs for the restaurants in Trehusrekka can be cultivated here, and its operations can be linked to the Fåbro farm a little further up the river, where one farmer currently works full-time with hydroponic cultivation. The lights in the greenhouse must be turned off in the evening to avoid disturbing spawning salmons and the local amphibians.
For years, a row of wooden houses has flanked the Lysakerelven river. Originally, the house row was used for manufacturing, but in recent decades it has been used as offices. However, the old warehouses were not suited for restoration, so new buildings had to be designed. Modern wooden architecture with vertical cladding, gable roofs and materials that will age in style, will give associations to food halls of the past. For decades, the river has been inaccessible behind office buildings and warehouses. The new design offers narrow openings between the buildings that can accommodate restaurant or café tables. The plan is to reinstall the old gates, which were the only restorable items from the old warehouses. These initiatives will once again make the river accessible, and emphasize how the Lysakerelven river will play a major role in this new urban development.
«The design is inspired by Lilleaker as it appeared in 1925, before a flood washed down the river and caused much damage. Our wish is that people can sense the contours of the industrial activity that once took place here.»
Architect, interior architect and partner, Espen Veiby.
The thousands of square meters worth of shopping streets and cafes that are currently located inside the CC Vest shopping mall, will be moved to equally big stores on the ground level in the future Lilleakerbyen. A myriad of big and small streets, parks and courtyards will invite residents and visitors to different forms of social interaction. Trehusrekken will not only offer food and drink, but even lay the groundwork for culinary culture, education and research. Perhaps the turbine house could become a future home for Kulinarisk Akademi or some other culinary institution that recognize the value of creating a cuisine with roots in a certain location.
«The reuse and repurposing of building materials should permeate the Lilleakerbyen development as a whole, and a special sustainability study that mapped out all of the existing building components, from wood to windows and roof tiles, was made in order to see what could be repurposed.»
Architect, interior architect and partner, Espen Veiby.
