Europan 10 Vardø Norway
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E 1 VARDØ_NORWAY 0 EUROPAN10VARDØ_NORWAY 2 DEAREUROPANCONTENDERS For the fourth time EuropanNorwayinvites Europe’syoung voices to contribute to the discourse on Norwegianurban development.Threesitesin Oslo,TrondheimandVardøare on thetablereadyfor a critical explorationandbroaddiscussion. Europan has two main intentions. Firstly it offers cities and developersnew and innovativesolutions. Through the competitionthecitieshavetheir futures assessedandnewand oftenunexpectedstrategiesemerge.Eachmunicipalitytapsinto the bright mindsof youngEuropeanarchitectsandcandirect their ideasandvisionsto a localcontext.Secondly,Europanis anopportunityfor youngarchitectsto leap-frogthe oftenlong andtediousroadto the first ever built project.Thismeansthe TRONDHEIM competitionfunctionsboth as a research lab and a tool for realizationofnewideas.Europanrepresentsacompetitionform that insteadof dictatingthe outcomeembracesvariationanda holistictakeoncity development.Also,to participatein Europan means,for bothcity representativesandarchitects,to joinan constantlygrowingnetworkof peopledevotedto the issuesof city development,urbanplanningandarchitecture. OsloandTrondheimareinprocessof realizingEuropanprojects fromE7,E8andE9.Thefact that TrondheimandOslocomeback OSLO withnewsites,isasignthatEuropanisanimportantcontributor to the Norwegianurbandevelopmentandarchitecturedebate. Europanhas introduced new methodsand new voices and providednewandsurprisinganswers. In a time whenwe are facinga necessary,comprehensiveand critical review of how we haveorganizedour society,where the climatechangesandthe financialcrisis are extremealerts of a wrongcourse,it is nowwe needthe newvoicesthat can introducenewroads- newopportunities. Goodluckwith Europan10! MarianneSkjulhaug Principal,BergenSchoolofArchitecture VicePresident,EuropanNorway VARDØ EUROPAN10VARDØ_NORWAY 3 CONTENT DEAREUROPANCONTENDERS.........................02 CONTENT..........................................................03 INTRODUCTION.................................................04 URBANCONTEXT.........................................05-09 STUDYAREA...............................................10-14 SITE............................................................15-18 SOCIALCULTURALCONTEXT............................19 PROGRAM...................................................20-21 COMMISSIONFORTHEWINNER........................22 LISTOFILLUSTRATIONSANDDOCUMENTS.......23 EUROPANNORWAY...........................................24 EUROPAN10VARDØ_NORWAY 4 INTRODUCTION Cedanttenebraesoli - darknessshallgivewayto the sun.The experiencesandaconceptthatfurther developstourism.Asthe mottoin Vardø’scoatof armhasa forcefulmessage.Asa place new structures of the HighNorth is beinglaid out, Vardøcan sweptin darkness2 monthsof the year,exposedtocoldwinds nowfindits role, a role that is yet to bediscoveredanddefined. from the Arctic anddramaticallylocatedonan islandfar north Vardøneedsaplanfor howto connectto theenergyaboutto be eastinNorwaythisforcemustclearlybepresentinthelifeblood unleashedintheregion. of its inhabitants.Vardøisbyallmeanswalkingthetalk. -a strategy for developmentofthe harbourarea. NorthernNorway’soldestandNorway’seasternmosttownwas Partly deserted after the downfallof the fishing industry, a oncea prosperoustrade centre with strong ties to Russia,a rethinkingof how the harbour area againcan be the town’s regionalstrategicpoint.Butin recentyearsthe placehasbeen advantageis necessary.Howcan the area’s emptybuildings hit harddueto the changesinthe fishingindustry,previouslya becomeapart of the city’s strategy?Howcanurbanspacetie cornerstoneof thesociety. new andexistingprogramtogether.Is it possibleto bring out the potentialthat canbefoundin the meetingbetweenlandand As the new mapof the Northernhemisphereis drawn, Vardø water? CanVardøestablishnewarenasfor locals,short time canagainfinda strategicrole.Thetownwantsto useits proud workers,tourists andpossiblyglobalnomads?Vardøasksfor a history,uniquelocation,strikingsceneryandstronglocalculture strategy that discusseslocationsandconceptsfor a newtown to repositionitself regionallyandinternationally. square,a swimminghallanda smallaquarium.It alsoasksfor ideasfor re-useoftheformerfishfactory“Proden”andabetter Tobetter understanditspotentialVardøasksfor: useof urbanspaceandcommunicationthroughoutthe harbour area. -proposals for innovative strategies that can trigger new activity in the town. Vardøneedsto rethink its role in a newcontext.Globalization, Vardø needs to develop a credible plan that turns its regionalization,newdistrict policies,mobilityandnewtechnology disadvantagesinto an advantage.It must find niches and can either becomean advantageor disadvantagefor Vardø. alternativesanddevelopastrategythat supportsnewinitiatives Vardøisat the pointof a newbeginningandhopeswiththe help andideas.Themunicipalitywantsto createanimageor a brand from participatingarchitects in Europanto identifynew ideas that can attract businesslookingfor uniquelocations and andprojectsthat canconstitutea newandnecessaryplanfor thefuture. Vardøseenfrom south. EUROPAN10VARDØ_NORWAY 5 URBANCONTEXT Thehistory of Vardøgoesbackto 1307 whena fortress was builthere.By1700it haddevelopedintoa tradingcentreandan importantpart of thePomortradenetworkbetweenRussiaand NorthernNorway.Fishinghashistoricallybeenthe dominating activity in Vardø,but changesin the industryhas dramatically transformedthetown. Population figures for Vardø Municipalityhas decreased significantly(20%)duringthepast10years.Someofthedecline is causedbybirth deficit, althoughthe mostimportantreason is migration.In1970the populationwas4,500.Todayitis about 2,200.15yearsagoVardøhad14fishingfactories,todayit only hastwo. In1982Vardøwasconnectedtothe mainlandbyNorway’sfirst underwatertunnel.Travellingbetweenthecity andtheharbour, industryareasandairport at the mainlandgota lot easierand othertownsin theregionbecamecloserintermsof traveltime. Althoughthemunicipalitythoughtthe tunnelwouldopenup for new possibilities,the populationwasshrinkingdrasticallythe first yearsafter thetunnelwascompleted. Proudhistory. VardøisFinnmarkCounty’soldesttown,from 1700. Architecture Vardøisuniqueinthesensethatthetownhassomanybuildings that are built before1945.Onethird of the buildingswereleft intact after the bombings.Fewbuildingsfrom before Second WorldWararepreservedintherest of thecounty. Thefinal planfor the reconstructionof Vardøwas adoptedin 1946.Sincea third of the housesin Vardøwere intact a good part of the streets from the previousgrid plan outside the centrewasmaintained.Thecentralareasweretotallydamaged andhenceneededanewplan. Post War Reconstruction.Vardøas we see it todayis plannedaccordingto strict zoninganddominatingaxis. From the plan for reconstructionof Vardøone can see that all the idealsfrom BSR(BurnedPlaces’Regulation,anoverall schemefor rebuildingtowns in NorthernNorwayafter WW2) are presentwith strict zoningandthe useof axisas important features. Themainaxis in the Vardøplanis a park axis that includesKirkegataand the TownHallsquarewith the church as end motive.Themost importantinstitutionsare locatedin this part of town.Otherinstitutionsare locatedoutsideof the centre. Theexceptionis the high schoolwhich is locatedin the western Vågen.Onlyin the centre we see mixedprogram buildings(shops/housing),especiallyalong Strandgata, the towns shoppingstreet. Theindustry is locatedmainlyin the harbourandseparatedfromtheresidentialareasandareasfor businessandoffices.The“Allmenningene”,wherethefishermen pulledtheir boats on land, were savedin the reconstruction plan.Thesewere importantmeetingplacesearlier and today theseurbanspacesgiveaccessandviewto thewater. Theaimof the post war reconstructionwasto bring Northern townsupto the samelevelasthe standardof other Norwegian towns.As a result the housesbecamelargerandhadrunning Someof the remainingfew. Vardø’sfishingindustryis nolongerwhatit used water,toiletsandelectricity.SinceGardencitiesinEnglandwere to be. EUROPAN10VARDØ_NORWAY 6 the great role models,all the homeswere built on a separate plotwiththepossibilityofgardening.Itwascommonwithduplex housingthatin timecouldturn intovillasasthehousingdemand was covered.Vardøtoday lacks housingtypologysuited for singleswithout families.Thestreets and residentialareas in Vardøasweseeit todayare consistentwiththeinitialplan.The finaloutlayof theValenaxis,however,differs.Theplanincluded a trapezoidal-shapedspacein front of the church and also a parkwhichneverbecamerealized. Climate Vardøis Norway’sonlytown in the Arctic climatezone.This meansthat the averagetemperatureper monthneverclimbs aboveten degrees.Understandablythishasconsequencesfor Vardø’svegetationand wildlife. Vardø’sonly tree died some yearsago. Vardøis extremelyexposedto wind.Vardøhas the stormiest daysin Norwayandnocity in Norwayhasgreater mediumwind speed:8.2 m/sec. Thewindis especiallystrong on Valenand Strandgatawherethestreetscapeworksasanicywindtunnel. At the end of the axis. Vardøchurchmakesthe endmotiveof the Valenaxis Predominantwindisfromthesouthwestinwinterandnorthwest wheremostpublicinstitutionsarelocated. of thesummer. From23 November21Januarythe sun disappearsunderthe horizonandfrom 16 May29Julyis themidnightsunpresent. Fish Fish used to be the main industry in Vardø,but today you hardly see any larger fish boats in the harbour and there is almost no industry left. However,fish together with public sector still remain the dominantactivity in the municipality. Themodernizationofthe fishingindustriesin the 50s andthe changesin ownershipto the