With the draft “Life in Lohavn,” Hille Melbye Arkitekter aims to facilitate the harmonization of urban life and nature. Within a framework and architecture that promotes community, both visitors and residents of the area should feel welcome and cared for.
In October, Hille Melbye and TEAM HABITAT submitted their proposal for the development of the Lohavn area at Grønlikaia in Oslo; the final major expansion of the fjord city in Oslo.
Lohavn has long been characterized by roads and railway lines, but bustling city life is now taking over. “The new city within the city,” with portals, colonnades, squares, and meeting places, opens the fjord to the city’s inhabitants. Together with a diverse range of functions, spatial locations, and pathways tailored to all who visit the site, this is precisely what is needed to create well-being and a sense of belonging.
“This must be one of the city’s most exciting development areas because it will be able to offer so many experiences for everyone. Whether you are looking for good food, play in the backyard, contact with life by the shore, or sun on the quayside.”
Directed towards the community
In Lohavn, the architecture is based on surplus and generosity, not directed towards individual residents, but towards the community.
“This must be one of the city’s most exciting development areas,” says Kaja Melbye, “because it will be able to offer so many experiences for everyone. Whether you are looking for good food, play in the backyard, contact with life by the shore, or sun on the quayside.”
Lohavn borders the Bjørvika area to the northwest and Sydhavna to the south. In the vicinity, you will also find Middelalderparken, one of Oslo’s oldest cultural-historical areas.
Preserve and develop
Lohavn is one of several areas to be developed at Grønlikaia, part of Oslo’s old harbor with long evening sun and views of the city and Oslo Fjord. As Grønlikaia develops as the final major area in Bjørvika, it does so after 20 years of fjord city development, during which much has been learned about what works well and what the city needs more of.
“It is incredibly exciting to have the opportunity to participate in this ambitious project. Bjørvika has virtually risen from the ashes over the past two decades, and Grønlikaia will, for the time being, mark the final chapter in the development of the fjord city. We have great confidence that TEAM HABITAT’s solution can complement the rest of the areas in the area well,” Melbye explains.
The contribution was submitted as part of a parallel commission for Hav Eiendom AS, where 16 different teams worked on five sub-areas of Grønlikaia. The assignment is part of the development of the detailed regulatory plan for Grønlikaia.