Skiens Telemark Canal is the last river in Norway used to transport timber for paper production. The installation “Røtterane” illuminates the old woodpiles, which keeps the rafts on the river from catching on the banks.

34 Jenny B. Osuldsen

Snøhetta’s “Morild” project reinterprets and illuminates Skien’s industrial and cultural past with an integrated land- scape concept built around temporal lighting installations.

T H E U R B A N P L A N O F S K I E N I N A N E W L I G H T

n 1998 local planning agencies in Skien, Norway, organized a com- Fourteen light installations, among them the illuminated petition in order to engage local residents and to restore the town’s „Røtterane“ woodpiles (1), illuminated fountains (2) and the I cultural heritage. Skien city officials stated that, “The aim of the pro- lighting of the bridge underpass (3) visually reconnect the ject is to ensure that buildings, institutions, cultural settings, and the centre of Skien to its waterfront. scenic landscapes of great historical, cultural and environmental value are preserved, maintained and appropriately presented”. In particular, local city planners felt that the city was cut off from its historic waterfront. Snøhetta from Norway won the competition with their entry called “Morild”, the Norwegian word for “sea fire”. The project proposed a series of light installations that describes Skien’s unique industrial landscape character, illuminates culturally historic urban elements, and visually reconnects the town’s center to the waterfront as originally envisioned in the 1886 master plan. Skien, a small town with a population of 55,000, is situated at the mouth of the Telemark Canal, some two hours drive southwest of Oslo. The canal forms the gateway to Telemark’s watershed system, which reach- es from the Hardangervidda Mountain National Park to the Skagerak Sea. The waterways meet at the heart of Skien and are separated by the town’s lock, the “Skiens sluse”. The water levels on each side of the lock have a five meter height difference. This height difference, together with the lock, played an active role in Skien’s settlement pattern and industrial develop- 3 ment. Skien industries utilized the natural power source created by the waterfalls, while the town’s natural coastal location encouraged trade between inland dwellers and the seafaring. Further, the Telemark Canal is 2 the last waterway in Norway that transports timber for paper production. Twenty-four historic “Røtterane” structures (dolphins), still used for timber transportation, stand as “new” landmarks in Skien. In most other places in Norway, these elements have been destroyed. Snøhetta’s multi-faceted Morild project re-awakens people’s awareness of the special cultural and historical features in both the landscape and townscape. The strong axis from the church to the old tax building is re- inforced by five, seven-meter high up-lit fountains that float on the river. The church and the tax buildings are also carefully illuminated, since they are, together with the “Varehallene”, a storehouse, the only buildings inte- grated in to the Morild scheme. The other projects are landscape installa- tions and sculptures that interact with the water. For example, the Skien lock, rendered “invisible” for many years by the heavy traffic passing over it, is now illuminated with integrated lights that focus only on the water chambers and the lock doors.

Five illuminated columns of water emphasize the urban axis between the church and the old tax building and reawaken public awareness. Skiens church is one of three buildings included in the Morild Project which is skillfully illuminated.

MORILD, SKIEN, NORWAY Client: City of Skien and County of Telemark Design: Snøhetta AS, Frank D. Kristiansen, Jenny B. Osuldsen Planning: 2003 – 2004 Realisation: December 2004 Costs: 6 million Norwegian krones

36 It has been six years from the competition to Morild’s realization. The project became one of the Norwegian Ministry of Cultural and Church Affairs’ millennium sites. Planning processes involved a large team of local council employees, property owners, local businesses, the local church, the local public, and the directorate for Cultural Heritage. The Skien residents welcome the project; they use the waterfront again and are proud of the old and new stories that are told every night through Morild’s changing moods. Darkness, weather, industrial smoke, and energy from the water move Morild in paradoxical ways; the project The bridge underpass formerly was an intimidating place is at once a strong landmark and invisible. Moving between diverse con- and scarcely traversed; now, each weekday it is lit in a ditions, Morild re-casts its magic every night. different colour of the rainbow.