Switching City, Andalsnes, Norway
From Archiplanet
 | Switching City |
| Designer | Jägnefält Milton, Stockholm, Sweden |
| Location | Åndalsnes, Norway |
| Date | 2010 |
| Building Type | Town and City |
| Climate | Alpine |
| Architectural Style | Modern |
| Street Address | |
| Notes | third place in Åndalsnes master plan competition. |
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[edit] Discussion
| Building Details | |
| Client | City of Åndalsnes |
| Stories | varies |
[edit] Translation of Jury Comments
The jury awards the proposal a third prize for an original idea presented in a graphic precise and beautiful manner. The jury believes the perspective sketches in itself is a contribution to the ideas of Åndalsnes.
Tourism is a global and growing industry. For many areas outside the big cities, tourism pro- vides the needed economic development when traditional manufacturing disappears. The big competition between tourist destinations demands good products and effective marketing. In Norway many places are characterised through their natural qualities like fjords and moun- tains, Åndalsnes is a gateway to those experiences and the city also provides an opportunity to stand out and develop a brand based on its special qualities and characteristics associated with the town-centre. Åndalsnes architectural qualities is characterised by a sober post-war rebuilding and is of limited value as an attraction.
The proposal ”Switching City” has taken this challenge seriously and points to the need to create new qualities that are both linked to a historical context, while also having sufficient distinctive and spectacular qualities to catch the attention to rebrand Åndalsnes. Rather than proposing infills in the dissolved city blocks or new piers and promenades along the fjord, the proposers have chosen to focus on the opportunities that lies in allowing a single item form the basis for a spatial and programmatic interventions in the most important and most public zones of Åndalsnes.
The proposer has seen the importance of the railway for the development of the city and taken this element and created a new future for the city. The railroads fundamen- tal contradiction between the permanence of the tracks and the mobility and flexibility of the wagons is playfully and elegantly exploited in the planning proposal.
By letting the old and new railroads cover the competition area the proposer shows that the desired competition programs can be resolved within the proposed modules on the tracks. The solution resolves to a large extent the needs that may appear, and offers opportunities to reorganise the programs in relation to the urban space and makes it possible for different uses such as concerts, festivals, markets, and seasonal changes.
Juvet, the landscape hotel in Valdal and the renaissance of the cabins have showed that there is a market for simple, yet distinctive accommodation. The traditional hotels are losing ground with its high costs and poor architectural identity. The proposals is consistent with Åndalsnes desire to become the mountain capital that offers a wider range of accommo- dations and experiences to its visitors. The jury is also impressed and charmed by the proposals aesthetic and visual qualities of a the nature perspectives. The light-surreal mood of the visualisation with a magic and Tarkovsky-esk atmosphere contrasts well with the sober and technical qualitites of the plans and axonometric drawings.
All in all it is a proposal that is consistent in its study of a single element’s potential to deve- lop the city of Åndalsnes into a dense, integrated and ever changing scenography of rolling, cubic volumes. Realised on a large scale the proposal would undoubtedly give the place a distinct and original ”Brand” with the potential to solve many of the competition task along the waterfront and the railway. The jury also believe that the proposal could contribute to the debate on the current railway site. Its ideas and possible solutions can be implemented in the short term and with a more realistic budget than the implementation of new train tracks.
The proposals solution with simple small-scale and more or less temporary structures, is also an important contribution to the discussion on how Åndalsnes sea front and railway square can be activated as the needs changes over the year and the lack of investors. The proposer’s goal is that the rail-cars would ”set the city in motion” and its important to have a quick and visible revitalization of the city centre. But in a possible next step the solid wood boxes can provide programs and activities to areas without necessarily having to be in wheels – a crane car can always provide mobility when needed.
[edit] Maps
[edit] Other Resources
[edit] References
- Competition Entry from Jägnefält Milton
[edit] External Links
- jagnefalt milton: a rolling master plan - DesignBoom, 2010.1223.
