Austigard Arkitektur and Sporaarchitects have designed a new metro station for Skøyen, a new high-rise redevelopment area in Oslo. The design won 2nd prize. The design partly derived from the very nature of a metro station: a constant flow of people in and out. The design is however also influenced by the location of the station: The curves of Norwegian fjords and coastlines, the curves in the material of Norwegian pine wood, and finally the curves in seaside Edvard Munch paintings. This creates a dreamlike landscape underground with views to the city above.
The walls of the station are left as they are cast: bare concrete using the diaphragm technique, where the ground itself has been used as formwork. The ceiling contrasts with this, with its soft, wooden holes to the sky.
Despite being an indoor station, the ceiling is open to the sky, allowing for the Nordic seasonal changes to be experienced deep underground. Rain will fall into the station, keeping the Nordic forest vegetation on the mezzanine level fresh without maintenance. The holes are carefully calculated to not allow rain to hit the platform, while at the same time allowing the low Nordic sunlight to reach all the way down to the platform, especially during morning and evening hours.
The holes in the ground also facilitate orientation for passengers who can easily get a quick understanding of where they are in the city. On the street level the station will reveal itself in its true nature – through holes in the ground – rather than built boxes on the ground.
