HIGH RISE IN GREEN
OSLO

In cooperation with HRTB (Norway) VLA has designed a proposal for a new sustainable tower block near the main railway station in the centre of Oslo.

The proposal is in response to the desire to build a modern, sustainable high rise building while creating an attractive, well-functioning, airy metropolitan space in the quarter around Biskop Gunnerus Gate and Schweigaardsgate.

The building will be a green tower with considerable sustainable potential. We regard daylight and air as vital elements in this setting for good urban living. We ensure their presence by concentrating most of the volume of the building in a tower construction at one end of the site. This will yield plenty of openness between the new building and its existing neighbours: Posthuset, and the SAS hotel. It will permit daylight to reach street level.

Through its curved shape and axis the design of the building will reduce turbulence and downdraughts in the area. This will improve the climate in the spaces around the buildings and mean a huge improvement to the local environment, which is currently perceived as wind-blown and starved of daylight. The shape of the building will also reduce the risk of overheating as none of its facades will be exposed to direct sunlight all day long.

The proposed facades are naturally ventilated and double glazed, with integrated sun shading, daylight reflection and solar arrays.
The design of the building also makes provision for green sky gardens potentially covering several floors. The sky gardens will ensure good internal communication.

Between Posthuset and the new tower the base of the building will be a series of ascending terraces, a natural continuation of life at town level. This will allow views of the sky and the surroundings, and vital daylight will be drawn into the urban space.

The design covers 80 000 square metres conceived for mixed use, with shops, offices and hotels.