Bergen Arkitekthogskole

Student: Bård Gundersen
Tutors: APP Andre Fontes, DAV Vibeke Jensen

Project:
The project is located in the Stavanger region on the north/south stretch between Stavanger and Sandnes. The focus is a strategy on urban densification in the areas outside the citycenters, namely in the smaller center cores located between the to cities.

Situation:The two cities are overlapping and the centers are only 15km apart, this has created a very strong movement between the two main center cores traveling in the north/south direction. All traffic that travels outside this stretch is very disconnected from the urban situation. Oil is the main income in Norway, and Stavanger is the countries oil capital. This flow of money that is going though the city creates a large gap between people working in thehuge industry and those who don’t. The industry pushes up prices in the entire region, but especially in the center cores. People like students, teachers, bus drivers, artists and other important components in the city are pushed south and face big commutes as they can tafford to live near the big cores that are slowly loosing activity, and many feel they loose a sense of community and connection to the city cores.

Strategy: The densification strategy creates, or revitalizes the smaller cores between the city centers and activates the east/west direction in a boulevard. It densifies the program to make small urban strings within the vastness of the more enclosed suburban communities. The big familyhouses that define several places outside the cores are becoming more and more privatized. The people living in these areas are using less of the public space, and as it is less used it’s slowly fading away.

The project is about the adaptation of existing structures and situations, as much as creating new structures. To get a view of the different parts of the new movement the important situations are drawn in isometric, plan and section drawings to give a solution to the adaptation of the new movement as a whole. A public space in use can create familiarity with the people in your neighborhood, and make a more active and thriving community. Many situations in Stavanger are happening inward, if a store takes over a structure it uses any extra outside space for parking and works out what should happen inside the structure instead.

All photos: Bård Gundersen

Apple tree:
- The act of planting and maintaining apple trees, nurtures and keeps the mind healthy.

 
small models
- The stretch is broken into 8 stamps each showing an example of how to improve the situation.

Trees
- The Apple orchard is maintained by the people in the area. It creates a situation in which we can get to know our neighbours.