Norwegian wood

Danish office aart and the young local Studio Ludo are the masterminds behind a timber-built village, located on the shore of a particularly beautiful inland fjord with huge cliffs dropping directly into the water. The collaboration has resulted in a sculptural reinterpretation of the typical Stavanger street plan with its crooked streets.

The new neighbourhood consists of a dozen individual four- to eight-storey housing blocks. The lower blocks hug the edge of the fjord while the taller ones are placed further back in the landscape, thereby providing the majority of apartments with magnificent views. The roof pitch of the individual blocks varies and this, together with the overall lopsided shapes of the buildings, creates a dynamic sense of variation and individuality. At the same time, the residential area acquires a feeling of environmental connection through the use of Norwegian wood. All roofs, floors and walls are made out of solid wood and no other materials whatsoever (roof felt, metal) will be visible from the outside.

By using local wood as the primary material and basing the design on the original Stavanger street layout, the project as a whole succeeds in reinterpreting the past to improve the future. A modern urban neighbourhood has been created that respects the unique history of the city and also interacts with the spectacular nature of the area. (Morten Scholz, 2+1)