7. Sketches, concepts and solutions

A strong innovation district cannot be built from scratch. It must be built on the shoulders of strong and leading expert communities that already have strong presence in the district. Oslo Science City also builds on a number of projects in the area that are already well underway.

Key challenges and opportunities

At present, the area has large open spaces and there is a potential to create a vibrant and diverse city on a more intimate scale. The area appears as monoprogrammatic, with scattered buildings. The scale makes many of the urban spaces seem undefined and cold.

The area has a potential to connect the city and the surrounding nature areas through a continuous green belt. But barrier effects from Ring 3 and the Oslo Metro place interruptions in its course. There are well-functioning connections to public transport through transport hubs at the metro stations. But at the same time, the metro fragments the area and destroys its centre.

POSSIBILITY FOR A GREEN BELT

DIVISION DUE TO INFRASTRUCTURE

CENTRAL METRO STATIONS

BARRIER THROUGH THE AREA

 

TOPOGRAPHY
The valley at Gaustadbekken creates a barrier together with the metro due to the topography of the area.

CLOSED FACADES
Most of the buildings in the area have closed facades towards the public space, which makes the interaction between inside and outside difficult.

UNDEFINED AND INACTIVE STREETS
Street spaces that face the residential areas lack outward-oriented program and appear inactive.

BARRIER EFFECTS
The metro creates barriers in the area.

 

MONOPROGRAM AND LARGE SCALE
The area consists mainly of large-scale institutions and commercial buildings and does not contribute to creating a vibrant, around-the-clock, city.

PROTECTED BUILDINGS AND SPACES
Many buildings and urban spaces in the area are protected or preservation-worthy.

URBAN AND NATURAL SPACE
There is great variation in the public space in the area, from natural landscapes to landscaped parks and urban squares.

CONNECTIONS AND WALKING PATHS
Hiking trails that connect the nature areas around Oslo with the inner city converge in this area, which allows the area to enhance this connection.

 

PUBLIC TRANSPORT HUBS
The metro stations are important transport hubs and ensure easy access to the central area.

ATTRACTIVE PROGRAMS
In the area, there are multiple buildings with inherent potential for knowledge dissemination and innovation through outward-oriented program.

CROSS-CONNECTIONS
The three cross-connections over the metro can be strengthened and improved to tie the area more closely together across the barriers created by the metro tracks.

AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT
The area has a large concentration of sites for development that have not yet been regulated. This creates potential for holistic and ambitious planning of the area.