Nordre Aker, Norway
Oslo-based Snøhetta has completed a mixed use building comprising of two angular towers with apartments and office spaces whose structure allows airflow, optimised ventilation and energy consumption.
The cutting-edge building, Vertikal Nydalen, is situated on a former parking lot within an industrial area that is evolving into a lively residential and business district.
The structure comprises two volumes of differing heights, with only one section reaching the plot’s maximum potential of eighteen stories to preserve specific sightlines and create a lighter visual impact.
The architecture also forms a new town square and several pockets and passageways on the ground floor, ensuring good sunlight and minimal wind in a new plaza.
Angled façades create pressure differences that facilitate airflow through the building. Air enters via façade valves that open and close as needed.
When windows on opposite sides of the building are open, the pressure difference drives air circulation through the premises.
“As architects and construction industry members, we have a great shared responsibility to find viable solutions to the immense environmental challenges we face today,” says Snøhetta founding partner Kjetil Trædal Thorsen.
With Vertikal Nydalen, we are exploring new ways of working as part of a larger ongoing innovation effort at Snøhetta.”
In addition to minimizing the space required for technical elements, the energy use for ventilation, the CO2 footprint in the construction industry, and increasing the spatial qualities of the building – naturally ventilated offices have less need for remodeling and technical maintenance, so the spaces are designed to last and adapt to the clients’ changing needs.
A concrete core ensures a slow release of heat and cold from the floors. Steel constructions support the decks, while the façade is made up of wooden elements clad in heat-treated pine, which creates a warm and tactile expression on the outside.
The façade is further characterized by the 43 angled balconies that stand out from the wooden surface with their steel finish.
The railings are perforated, while the undersides are multifaceted and capture the light from different angles, providing observant passers-by with various expressions throughout the day.
The untraditional solutions set certain parameters for the interior. Any adage of materials would lower the effects of the raw concrete and the generous ceiling height on the warming and cooling effect of the building.
Therefore, the concrete is unveiled as much as possible throughout, and only a thin oak parquet layer is glued onto the concrete flooring of the apartments.
Large windows allow plenty of light, a rare quality for urban new builds, and views over the surrounding areas, with most reaching as far as the Oslo fjord.
Project: Vertikal Nydalen
Architects: Snøhetta AS
Landscape Architects: Lala Tøyen AS
Photographers: Lars Petter Pettersen
