Space Group - Ove Arup & Partners & West 8 - Passenger Terminal & Urban Plan

Competition winners
Space Group
Ove Arup & Partners & West 8
Passenger Terminal & Urban Plan
Tromsø, Norway

Image courtesy Space Group

The international competition for the 23,000 square meters urban plan called for a Cruise Ship Passenger Terminal for the Hurtigruta ships, a hotel, a congress center, a bus station and the Amundsen Park. The winning design by Space Group, Oslo was done in collaboration with London based engineers Ove Arup & Partners and West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture, Rotterdam.

Tromsø, located at 70° north latitude, has the unique condition of having no hinterland, only "fore-land". Surrounded by sea, and islands, and horizons, and sea again, Tromsø' s physical connections, shifting perceptions, dispose of any traditional notion of edge, a spatiality where water, view, sky, light, land form changing truths.

Image courtesy Space Group

"First, midwinter, as guests of Tromsø, we experienced the shifting landscape of the north. An omnipresent black shadow formed a mysterious backdrop, east. Returning in summer, the wall had been moved, replaced by other perceptions, other depths, shifting layers, as one changes the aperture on a reflex camera. In Tromsø, the time space relationships are in a constant state of flux, managed by light."
Space Group

The winning project proposes a new landfill that wraps the existing coastline, establishing the clearest relationships between infrastructures; maximizing the contact between city and terminal.

Amundsen's square has been redefined to include the Kirkegata 2 building and will also expand the prominence and potentials for the adjacent NNKS museum. Traffic is re-routed and the "square" is given a clear definition that it has never had, with the conference center establishing its south eastern edge. Amundsen has been elevated to give it a greater prominence for the whole area, and creating "virtual" corridors in the context.

Image courtesy Space Group

The project is conceived as 3 + 3 terminals. The first three are concerned with optimal motion [transposition] three ideal terminals for speedboat, Hurtiruta, and bus. Each terminal with its own unique identity, character, and interface with one another and the city. The position of these 3 entities, and the infrastructure that supports them, the dedicated movements, primary and secondary relationships, form a dynamic layered organization system.

The second three are related to the mind and body [transfer]; conference, hotel, and spa. These functions have suffered under their own residual self-image, mere shadows of their former greatness. Our design gives them each their freedom back and with that their public licenses. These "6" terminals create a multiplicity of urban events that are activated and "refreshed" in time and space.

Image courtesy Space Group

The position of the Harbor Authority Headquarters building over the main entrance to the speedboat terminal, together with the conference center, was essential in orchestrating the movement into the terminal while mediating the scales of city and terminal. The facade is a structural skin of wood and glass.

Image courtesy Space Group

The Arrival Hall and luggage handling are located on the ground floor. Flows are organized to guarantee the optimal use of space, distinguishing clearly arrival and departure. A mobile passenger gangway brings passengers from the different mooring positions of the large boats to the upper terminal level winter arrival through the mesh and summer arrival potentially at the terminal's exterior deck. The gangway can be parked remotely to liberate the entire quay for harbor activities.

Image courtesy Space Group
The Departure Hall room is located on the second level.

Image courtesy Space Group

The depth of the roof construction in the Main Terminal is compressed to 50 centimeters with unit sizes that reflect standard glazing dimensions, making additional substructure redundant. The height of the space, the depth of the construction, the viewpoint of the visitors, the structural exceptions, and the mix of translucent and transparent surfaces in the roof create a quality where no two views through the mesh are ever the same. The roof is a filter for light and climate, illuminating the winter sky of the city's interior meeting space, bringing the summer beauty to the first step from the boat.

Image courtesy Space Group

Every room in the hotel has a perfect view, the only thing that differentiates them is size. The design occupies the smallest possible footprint, dedicating the "ground" floor to a very large garden towards the sea. The garden is achieved through a physical carving of the context; and provides the city with a spectacular covered public space.

Image courtesy Space Group
The Terminal seen from hotel. The transparent bottom of the proposed pool illuminates the entry 6 stories below.

Image courtesy Space Group

An eyecatcher is the 40 meter high ice sculpture in Tromsø fjord, Tromsø's frozen Statue of Liberty, inside which the Nobel Peace Chapel will be built.

During the six winter months the exterior of the "Ice Tower" will gradually be covered with a layer of icicles that will melt slowly in the spring. During the summer months visitors can look at the sun from the observation deck.

Image courtesy Space Group

Completion is planned for 2005

Architects:
Space Group, Oslo:
Gro Bonesmo
Gary Bates
Adam Kurdahl
Franco Ghilardi
Ellen Hellsten
Tai Grung
Håvard Fagernes
Minna Riska
Thomas Fagernes

Collaborators:

Arup & Partners, London:
Rory McGowan
Carolina Bartram
David Johnston
Jo Marples
Francesca Galeazzi

West8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture, Rotterdam:
Adriaan Geuze
Jerry van Eyck
Anders Melsom

July 7, 2003





				Features
		Competition winners Space Group Ove Arup & Partners & West 8 Passenger Terminal & Urban Plan Tromsø, Norway Image courtesy Space Group The international competition for the 23,000 square meters urban plan called for a Cruise Ship Passenger Terminal for the Hurtigruta ships, a hotel, a congress center, a bus station and the Amundsen Park. The winning design by Space Group, Oslo was done in collaboration with London based engineers Ove Arup & Partners and West 8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture, Rotterdam. Tromsø, located at 70° north latitude, has the unique condition of having no hinterland, only "fore-land". Surrounded by sea, and islands, and horizons, and sea again, Tromsø' s physical connections, shifting perceptions, dispose of any traditional notion of edge, a spatiality where water, view, sky, light, land form changing truths. Image courtesy Space Group "First, midwinter, as guests of Tromsø, we experienced the shifting landscape of the north. An omnipresent black shadow formed a mysterious backdrop, east. Returning in summer, the wall had been moved, replaced by other perceptions, other depths, shifting layers, as one changes the aperture on a reflex camera. In Tromsø, the time space relationships are in a constant state of flux, managed by light." Space Group The winning project proposes a new landfill that wraps the existing coastline, establishing the clearest relationships between infrastructures; maximizing the contact between city and terminal. Amundsen's square has been redefined to include the Kirkegata 2 building and will also expand the prominence and potentials for the adjacent NNKS museum. Traffic is re-routed and the "square" is given a clear definition that it has never had, with the conference center establishing its south eastern edge. Amundsen has been elevated to give it a greater prominence for the whole area, and creating "virtual" corridors in the context. Image courtesy Space Group The project is conceived as 3 + 3 terminals. The first three are concerned with optimal motion [transposition] three ideal terminals for speedboat, Hurtiruta, and bus. Each terminal with its own unique identity, character, and interface with one another and the city. The position of these 3 entities, and the infrastructure that supports them, the dedicated movements, primary and secondary relationships, form a dynamic layered organization system. The second three are related to the mind and body [transfer]; conference, hotel, and spa. These functions have suffered under their own residual self-image, mere shadows of their former greatness. Our design gives them each their freedom back and with that their public licenses. These "6" terminals create a multiplicity of urban events that are activated and "refreshed" in time and space. Image courtesy Space Group The position of the Harbor Authority Headquarters building over the main entrance to the speedboat terminal, together with the conference center, was essential in orchestrating the movement into the terminal while mediating the scales of city and terminal. The facade is a structural skin of wood and glass. Image courtesy Space Group The Arrival Hall and luggage handling are located on the ground floor. Flows are organized to guarantee the optimal use of space, distinguishing clearly arrival and departure. A mobile passenger gangway brings passengers from the different mooring positions of the large boats to the upper terminal level winter arrival through the mesh and summer arrival potentially at the terminal's exterior deck. The gangway can be parked remotely to liberate the entire quay for harbor activities. Image courtesy Space Group The Departure Hall room is located on the second level. Image courtesy Space Group The depth of the roof construction in the Main Terminal is compressed to 50 centimeters with unit sizes that reflect standard glazing dimensions, making additional substructure redundant. The height of the space, the depth of the construction, the viewpoint of the visitors, the structural exceptions, and the mix of translucent and transparent surfaces in the roof create a quality where no two views through the mesh are ever the same. The roof is a filter for light and climate, illuminating the winter sky of the city's interior meeting space, bringing the summer beauty to the first step from the boat. Image courtesy Space Group Every room in the hotel has a perfect view, the only thing that differentiates them is size. The design occupies the smallest possible footprint, dedicating the "ground" floor to a very large garden towards the sea. The garden is achieved through a physical carving of the context; and provides the city with a spectacular covered public space. Image courtesy Space Group The Terminal seen from hotel. The transparent bottom of the proposed pool illuminates the entry 6 stories below. Image courtesy Space Group An eyecatcher is the 40 meter high ice sculpture in Tromsø fjord, Tromsø's frozen Statue of Liberty, inside which the Nobel Peace Chapel will be built. During the six winter months the exterior of the "Ice Tower" will gradually be covered with a layer of icicles that will melt slowly in the spring. During the summer months visitors can look at the sun from the observation deck. Image courtesy Space Group Completion is planned for 2005 Architects: Space Group, Oslo: Gro Bonesmo Gary Bates Adam Kurdahl Franco Ghilardi Ellen Hellsten Tai Grung Håvard Fagernes Minna Riska Thomas Fagernes Collaborators: Arup & Partners, London: Rory McGowan Carolina Bartram David Johnston Jo Marples Francesca Galeazzi West8 Urban Design and Landscape Architecture, Rotterdam: Adriaan Geuze Jerry van Eyck Anders Melsom July 7, 2003