Mustad ahead with strong architectural principles
photo: Jean-Pierre Mesinele
In collaboration with LPO Architects, A-lab has developed an architectural guide to the development for a new city center called Lilleakerbyen on the border between Oslo and Bærum in Norway.
We have had a chat with Olav Line, CEO of Mustad Eiendom, about why they wanted this guide and about a few of the challenges the construction industry is facing.
Why have you developed a special architectural guide for Lilleakerbyen?
The purpose behind the architectural guide is to emphasize our desire and our wish to go out of our way to set a high level of ambition for the architecture in general, but also to provide a framework for how different designs and different projects may result in a unique urban space that is rooted in the history and character of the site.
What do you feel is the most important aspect to consider when developing a brand new city center?
The special thing about our project is that the place is already a social hub for 4 million annual visitors. In addition, around 7000 people work here. To simplify a bit, the CC Vest shopping mall has to a certain degree replaced the traditional market square, but it is still an important – and for many people the only – social hub for the approximately 90 000 people from the west-side of Oslo and the east-side of Bærum who use CC Vest. I think and I hope that Lilleakerbyen can and will become the city center for these 90 000 people in the sense that we manage to spark a feeling of ownership to this place, whether you are living here, working here or using the city for shopping, cultural activities, food and drink, recreation or so on. In other words, the most important aspect is the people, and our ability to create a sense of belonging for them in Lilleakerbyen. We have tried to put in a special guiding principle for this issue in our vision for the project, and it goes: «consideration for each and every one, and for each and every meter.»
I also have to add that the fact that the implementation period is long makes it extra challenging to keep focus on keeping everyone happy with the project throughout the implementation period. Therefore, it is important to accommodate use of the area even before everything is completed – with temporary features that can, as early as possible, give clues of what is to come. In other words, use the city even if it is not yet a city.
Based on your experience from urban development, what would say are the biggest challenges the industry faces today?
In general, I would say that the industry is still focused on the physical aspects: buildings, landscape and technology. Of course, none of the above are insignificant, but we believe it is going to center a lot more around people – those who are going to live in, work in and use these places – and around the realization of what this means for us (the project), whether it is a matter of digital solutions, of how more and more commodities become services, and of how the service sector can be a new driver of urban experiences. The most important issue, but also possibly the most yielding one, is understanding how we can figure out the social sustainability of a place.
In your plan for Lilleakerbyen, you say that the CC Vest shopping mall will be transformed into a city center with street level stores. What are your thoughts on repurposing materials and rehabilitating the existing building mass in Lilleaker to create this new shopping hub?
We have mapped out the materials in each of our buildings in the whole area. This means that we have a material database of all of our buildings. The next phase, which we have already started on, is to use this knowledge in single projects, not to mention do contribute to making the whole industry repurpose and refine existing building materials. Currently, this happens bilaterally as we have made an agreement with another developer to take over some of the building materials for one project, but in the future it seems possible to establish a regional or national material database where you can buy or sell building materials. This industry is not fully developed for receiving and refining demolition waste, but big and positive changes happen every month in this area. Last but not least, this knowledge has been brought into new projects, which may be dismantled more easily than the buildings we have made from the 1960s and up until today.
How do you imagine life in Lilleaker in the future?
When we succeed, Lilleakerbyen is the heart of Lysakerbyen, and it is also the city center for around 90 000 people that currently use CC Vest as their social hub. We have made Jan Gehl’s «cities are for people» a reality in the third busiest transit hub in Norway. Lilleakerbyen is a place for everyone, a place where seasons and neighborly relations give birth to a sense of belonging and enthusiasm, and where «the 10-minute city» gives you everything you need to live a good life. At the same time, we have succeeded in creating diversity in residences, recreational opportunities and social activities in a way that makes Lilleakerbyen live up to «consideration for each and every one, and for each and every meter» – a place for people of all ages in all places in life. A characteristic feature of life in Lilleakerbyen is how the urban development has embraced the river and its surrounding landscape as the «backbone» of the city. Still, the city is made up of architecture that have created an endemic character, with apparent traces back to the local history, not to mention architecture that will be admired, but also discussed and visited. It is easy to go to Lilleakerbyen, whether you go by public transportation or use a bike, a kayak, your own car or a shared car.
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