Team: Moras Antonios, Kanellos Nestoras, Kypritzis Chrysostomos, Mastora Eftychia, Sakkas Athanasios
Idea Description
1. Connection – Movements
A basic problem of Flotmyr is the existence of Karmsundgata, the main traffic artery through Haugesund, at the west limit of it, which also works as a barrier between the historic center and the rest of the city. As long as we want to connect the site, and the residential areas on the east with the center, we underground Karmsundgata, along the west limit of the site, so the pedestrians can walk safely in the ground level.
We also continue phusically the movements of the historic center, which are organized by the grid, through the site, and we match them with the less strictly streets of the east side, trying to emphasize the green axis.
Those two decisions make Flotmyr work as a destination, but also as a passage, through which the citizens of the east suburbs can reach the center.
2. Public space
We propose different types of public spaces, which offer a variety of uses.
At the extension of the monumental green axis, we create a big square, surrounded by large scale buildings of public uses, which guarantee a crowded area all day and night. This area is the heart of the site, and works as a reference center. The square is surrounded by arcades and large scale interiors, which work as shelters in extreme weather conditions. The main element of the square is the water, which falls down as a waterfall and continues as a river along the green axis, signaling the connection of the square with the city center.
The roof of the underground Karmsundgata, works as a wide pedestrian. This area can be used as a linear square, or a commercial road, as long as the commercial area is growing along it.
At the east side of the site, we propose two green, more private areas, which work as parks for the residences that surround them and their landscape characterizes from the skylights of the underground bus station.
The rest of the site has a single deal, as a mosaic of soft and hard surfaces, of introvert and extrovert spaces, of flat and inclined levels which produce a large amount of space qualities and welcome all kind of activities.
3. High density
The proposed density reaches the desired 200% Floor Area Ratio, which ensures an urban environment. The choice of such a great density, in a city with the scale of Haugesung needs a special handling. As long as we desire to match our project with the rest of the city, we base our design in the surrounded enviroment by using the extends of the grid and the roads to engrave our movements and the layouts of our buildings, and the extends of the surrounded buildings to engrave our flour. Those two decisions convey the scale of the neighbourhood into our project.
Especially for the use of the height, we faced the mass of our buildings as a hill (Haugr), which has a small height in the borders of the project, matching with the height of the surrounded buildings, and in the middle of the site they become higher, as the top of a hill adding density in the site.
Those decisions have as a result a form machine, which creates special buildings with dynamic forms, identity for each one but also for the whole area, and a changing imaginary skyline for the area, an icon which reminds the Norwegian fjords.
4. Innovative transportation
The current hub of public transportation remains at Flotmyr. Our proposal is to underground the hub, so as to exempt from its unpleasant existence in the grounfloor and all the problems that this implies. We keep only the boarding area and we propose the removal of all the accompanied uses, such as bus parking, gas filling, or repair and cleaning garage. The entrance and the exit of the station are placed at the central square, at the end of the green axis. This decision adds the station traffic at the square, and also helps a visitor to orientate easily in the city. As long as the exit of the bus station is the first view of a visitor who comes by bus, we handled that area especially. The great waterfall at the exit of the station, surprises and welcomes the visitors, and if they follow the water rout they will reach the city centre.
Except the fact that we underground Karmsundgata along the west side of Flotmyr , we also underground the parking area which serves the citizens of Flotmyr.
Those three decisions exempt the site from the unpleasant existence of vehicles, and leave the ground flour area in the use of pedestrians and bicycles.
5. Diversity
We propose a mixture of uses such as housing, commercial spaces, offices, recreation spaces, hotel, and two cultural areas, the open theatre and the “black box”, a big space of multiple cultural use. All those uses combined with the bus station guarantee a crowded urban area at the day, but also at night, where people from the wider area, can live, work, meet, play.
The central square is surrounded by the bus station, the hotel, the black box, recreation spaces and offices. The commercial spaces are put along the pedestrian over the underground Karmsundgata.
The residential buildings are protected from the crowded areas, and each of them consists of a flexible mixture of 5 basic different house typologies, Type A (studio), Type B (Loft), Type C (one level-2 bedroom house), Types D & E (2 level house with 2-3-4 bedrooms).
This deal of density and diversity, makes the project attractive to the real estate market and ensures the funding and the viability of it.
6. Integrated City
The rehabilitation of the connection between Flotmyr and the center by undergrounding Karmsundgata, the extend of the green axis and the grid, the construction of a large square, surrounded by multiple uses which is the first impression of someone who visits the city by bus, the high density of the area and the diversity of spaces, uses, possibilities consist an integrated solution for the present void of Haugesund, which will help the center to become again a strong Regional Centre and a vibrant Historic Centre.
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