Fornebu Brygge

Architect: Haptic Architects

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Location: Oslo, Norway | View Map
Category: Promenades

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Fornebu Brygge

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Designs by Haptic and Oslo Works unveiled ahead of planning submission for fjord-side regeneration

Designs by Haptic and Oslo Works have been unveiled for the first time for the regeneration of Fornebu Brygge, a fjord-side location just outside central Oslo that will transform a disused parking lot into a global centre for pioneering a sustainable ocean economy. The scheme has been designed for developer Selvaag and technology investor We Are Human, who collaborated on the initial concept, property development and detailed planning proposals through their dedicated development company, Fornebu Brygge AS.

The proposed plan facilitates a 45,000 m2 waterside scheme that features an iconic visitor attraction, the Fjordarium, a local, ethical aquarium, with underwater galleries focused on discovering the fjord, and its future. This forms part of a wider knowledge hub of flexible workspaces for marine industry and ocean-tech businesses, researchers and start-ups.

photo_credit © Aesthetica Studio — © Aesthetica Studio

The proposed scheme also features a marine centre, water sports centre, restaurants and cafes and a new ferry terminal, set within a newly landscaped waterfront. Overall, it would extend the publicly accessible shoreline by 1,000 metres, and create two new bays, including an 8,000 sqm public park.

The Fornebu Brygge redevelopment plan forms an important part of the urban development of the wider peninsula, which will include new residential neighbourhoods, office buildings, social and cultural functions, including the new school and cultural centre, Tårnkvartalet, by Haptic Architects in partnership with PIR2. An extension of Oslo’s Metro line connecting the neighbouring destinations on Fornebu to each other, and to Oslo’s city centre.

The design proposal for Fornebu Brygge features three key areas – Fjord, Wharf, and Urban. Each carries a distinctive architecture and scale, to give the overall development a varied silhouette. The scheme would provide the region with a range of waterfront interactions and experiences, and an arena for innovation in marine life preservation, sustainable food and energy production, and green ocean transport solutions.

Fjord is envisaged as the educational centre of the scheme, and home to the Fjordarium that will provide a window directly into the fjord, giving way to an immersive visitor experience. It will also include a restaurant and bar, gallery and event space, research laboratories, workspaces for researchers, and teaching rooms distributed above and below water.

The Wharf, also on the shoreline, is designed as an innovation arena, with low-rise workshops and conference facilities, from one to three stories, along with a marina with floating saunas. The Urban area, slightly set back from the water, consists of mid-rise workspace buildings ranging between one and nine floors, with publicly activated ground floor levels, interconnected by a fine mesh of public spaces and an accessible quayside promenade.

The Fjordarium building has been designed in close dialogue with the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) to best preserve marine biodiversity, both underwater and along the shoreline. The building is designed to withstand the fjord’s waves and currents and bring natural light into the spaces below water level. Enabling unique exposure to the Oslofjord, it will focus on challenges and solutions for cleaning the fjord, which has been heavily polluted as a result of agricultural waste.

Norway is uniquely located both geopolitically and historically as a major ocean economy, and the architects have also worked in collaboration with We Are Human to design the Fjordarium as both a physical and virtual destination, acting as a global learning platform when it comes to discovering the drivers for the new blue economy, and bringing about a green shift towards environment sustainability and a regenerative approach to our oceans.

The scheme includes two heritage buildings within the Wharf district, the old seaplane terminal turned restaurant and the former guardhouse for the Sea Rescue Service. The transformation of the existing parking lot to a walkable landscape with green spaces, an accessible waterfront and a new public harbour puts the heritage buildings in the centre in the new context.

As part of the municipality’s ambition for a carbon neutral development of Fornebu, the buildings are based largely on timber constructions and the use of carbon neutral concrete. In addition, the project is among others working with Nordic Circles to investigate the potential reuse of marine steel from decommissioned oil rigs, ships and oil pipes as structural and non-structural components in the new building mass.