Smestad Recycling Centre represents a new building typology. It is a facility for the public where all waste handling takes place indoors. The recycling centre is a robust, unclimatised open hall with two distinct areas: one for the public and one for operations. There is an integrated, climatised service and management building at one end, with areas for hazardous waste and maintenance, changing rooms and cafeteria for employees, as well as offices and technical rooms.
The building has a saw-tooth roof that gives the large volume a subdivision and rhythm. The recycling hall’s back and sidewalls are predominantly closed. The main façade towards the ring road is open, clad with expanded metal sheets mounted between the columns of laminated wood.
The operational logistics were an important design criteria. The local authority’s master plan gave strict limits to the buildings placement and size. It has been important to maximise traffic flow and parking for the public, to ensure sufficient slots for the waste fractions, and to give adequate maneuvering area for operations. The hall has space for 34 cars without trailer and 16 waste fractions. The public area is raised 2 metres over the operations yard. The outside space consists mainly of a large queue magazine to control traffic flow and avoid congestion both inside the hall and on the adjacent approach roads.
The project has high environmental ambitions. The building is constructed from low impact materials Facades are of concrete, brick, laminated wood and expanded metal of weathering steel. The entire roof is planted with sedum. The climatised part of the building achieves an EU energy label A (yellow).
