Stavanger has the highest concentration of wooden architecture in Northern Europe and the vision behind Norwegian Wood is to refine the city’s historic wooden architecture by creating an iconic and vibrant building complex, expressing a local identity and global vision. In this way Norwegian Wood is designed as a landmark project to mark Norway internationally and Stavanger as a pioneer city in the field of modern, sustainable wooden architecture.
Norwegian Wood is located at the waterfront and embraces the essence of the city by developing the wooden architectural tradition and interpreting the Norwegian landscape. The context has thus been the main structural idea in the design process, as the architecture blurs the boundary between the urban space and the dramatic Norwegian landscape by appearing as a mountain range of wood on the edge between the city and the sea.
By being structured as a coherent row of blocks connected by dramatic passages the disposition takes advantage of the magnificent sea view and creates recreational spaces at the waterfront. The varying routes, the public squares and the interaction between residential and business units create a vibrant atmosphere, ensuring the area becomes more than a thoroughfare. It becomes a walkthrough with varying experiences and qualities. The vibrant atmosphere is enhanced by the persistent irregularity of the lines and volumes, which envelopes Norwegian Wood in a distinctive and dramatic atmosphere reminiscent of the Norwegian landscape. The compelling and dramatic play of lines and volumes creates a distinct architectural identity, reinforcing the identity of the local community.
To mark Stavanger as a pioneer city in the field of sustainable wooden architecture Norwegian Wood is designed as the world’s first building complex of solid wood which meets the passive house standard. A sustainable vision made possible by taking integrated energy design as starting point, ensuring the building complex utilizes all the passive features of the architectural decisions to reduce energy consumption and create the best possible indoor climate with the building itself.
Norwegian Wood is thus designed in proportion to the movement of the sun during the day. In this way the building complex systematically uses the energy from the sun to reduce the demand for energy, while the irregular carvings create optimal lighting conditions by bringing sunlight into the passages, the public squares and the residential and business units. By using solid wood and maximizing daylight Norwegian Wood reinforces the relation between inside and outside, optimizing the residents’ life quality and creating an urban yet natural cityscape.
Architects: AART architects, Studio Ludo, Norway
WAF Entry: 2011
