Bodo Culture buildings. REINVENTIØN
Nerbyen waterfront will live a rejuvenation through the planning of the new Bodo cultural buildings.Designing a group of cultural buildings challenges to extension of the architectural experience till the urban scale, making the intervention a planning process rather than architecture or, if looking at it from the other side, it is architecture extending and becoming, rather than a single project, a collective “urban project”, capable to amplify the experience of Bodø cultural program to the whole waterfront.It is for this reason that we approach the urban project with architectural eyes, and the architecture project with a planning method. This sort of invention happens to provoke a switch of point of view, ultimately the origin of the Bodø experience.We orchestrate a process where the external public spaces work as a negative of the built space. The external spaces become a sequence, scenarios of life in the urban setting of Bodø, alcoves or esplanades where the local or extended community could live the different moments of everyday life, according to their needs, and that could host any cultural event that Bodø wills to offer in the future.The outside spaces become the very project. They shape a negative result which will happen to host the enclosed spaces and facilities: concert hall, rhythmic centre, library; three of the many events happening on Bodø waterfront.As Camillo Sitte in 1800, as Giovanbattista Nolli represented Rome in 1700, the public space was the generator of the urban experience: it extended onto the public buildings, making them enclosed portions of the external space.Our approach, as well, is the figuration of public scenarios which would enhance the whole experience of the waterfront. By analyzing the structure of the public space within Nerbyen, we want to research a setting which could optimize the use of all spots, still make all of them be part of a unique experience.Happenings on the promenade would be existing and new buildings.We believe that the best location for Bodø cultural buildings would be sites 100 and 105. They represent the best location within the city centre to host such activity density, still having the chance to activate the waterfront and constitute an eye-catcher and flag building on the marina skyline.Furthermore, our attempt is to take advantage of having more than one public function involved in the program, in order to pursue the final architectural and urban concept in the direction of an innovative proposal. This could become an amazing happening for Bodø, which would not have just a concert hall, a library or a rhythmic centre.Bodø might have an experimental cultural centre where all art disciplines could interact and broad the role of the complex within the whole Norway and abroad.By combining all programs in a single complex we introduce several means of efficiency, enormously extend its potential uses, and create a much more unique and memorable structure that makes a stronger statement about Bodo’s present and future cultural potential.One might argue that, by locating all functions on sites 100 and 105, Moloroth might remain unused, leaving the other side of the marina promenade unactive with no happening.We rather think that this site is the best location for the Sloping museum, that could therefore host in a magnificent way, from the urban and architectural point of view, the Anna Karoline: the end point of the Pier Root becomes the symbolic dock for one of the historical symbols of the city. The museum, therefore, becomes an actor in the waterfront play, not competing with the other functions, preserving its identity, and saving some privilege in the urban setting, that could pursue its cultural and tourist role.Further important issue would be relevant logistical advantages;Since the competition brief does not include the museum, making clear that its development will follow a parallel process, it is our belief that, concentrating the development of the cultural buildings in adjacent sites, would optimize building site process, feasibility, traffic during construction, and the general logistics of the complex. Spreading the functions might extend development time and procedures, weakening the single symbolic role and influence of the buildings.
NERBYEN MASTERPLAN
Starting from Småbåthavnen, the public loop unfolds its events:the marina, with a spectacular pier ending on a green panoramic island, strategically located in the middle of the harbor to offer a 360˚ view of the whole waterfront and the cultural buildings, the promenade on the Marina west, which offers from the sea side a new urban beach and on the harbor a band equipped with sport facilities for kids, the Pier Root with the focal point on the Sloping Museum, and further south, a protected green area for entertainment and cafes.Walking on the renovated Moloveien, the promenade offers a wider public space capable to optimize traffic and parking and at the same time offering vegetation lines, street furniture and a pier cafe’, constituting the line as a real “croisette”.On Sandkaien, the public space expands into a square that, according to the actual use, will confirm the arrival point of shrimps boats and will welcome the pedestrian flow coming from Storgata. The square will be a new fish market, where little fast food pavilions will offer a pleasant open space in the hart of the city.Dampskipskai west eastern part will celebrate the freedom of Bodø’s public spaces, announced by the gesture of reconnecting with a unique continuous open flow, sites 100 and 105. On this spot of the marina, logic extension of the cultural sloping square, people will be able to reach the sea level and admire the amazing views on the harbor. We operate a minor change by replacing the floating guest pier 2 with a new service pier, extension of the trajectory of Sjogata, capable to improve the logistic by moving its car access by Sjogata.The pedestrian path will not find any obstacle further this spot, since, either by walking by Dampskipskai west western part, or through the elevated plaza, it will be possible to reach the north side of the Marina and Hurtigbat terminal or continue the unimpeded walk on Nerbyen waterfront.
Nerbyen area is ready to host art, theatre, cinema and cultural festivals.
BODØ REINVENTIØN
By a careful analysis of the program proposed by the competition brief, we defined three programmatic families that will contribute to identify the main actors of “Bodø’s reinventiøn” : music, performing arts and library.The functions preserve a certain range of autonomy, though sharing a big portion of public program that ultimately becomes a design tool for the whole intervention.Additional to the creation of the families, we look carefully at the environmental and natural lighting issue, analyzing the different need of light between music and performing arts, if compared to the library.By putting in a very pragmatic way those diagrams on site, we found out a scheme of appealing interest, since it becomes an ultimate strategy rather than a finished project.We define a continuous urban podium, rising homogeneously on the two sites. It becomes the real urban attractor, indoor and outdoor playground for the Bodø cultural scene.An additional advantage of the podium structure is the possibility to keep a clear definition of the actual city fabric, and activate the urban level by the introduction of a retail ring, running all around the new functions.Retail becomes an attracting function, leaving the hart of the complex alive even during closing time of the shopping facilities.Moving public flows on higher levels needs thoughts and motivations. In this situation, bridging Halogalandsgata gives us the possibility to connect the waterfront and Moloveien flows with the city centre and with Hurtigbat Busterminal, with a continuous unimpeded pedestrian space. The elevated square offers an additional public space with top quality for the waterfront perception. It becomes part of the whole experience of “ascension” towards the breath taking views that the library and culture-youth café offer. Furthermore, the clear separation of pedestrian and car flows offers the square a range of protection from traffic that could allow the use of the space during the whole year.From winter walks to admire the beautiful white landscape of the snowy waterfront, to spring-summer open air activities, the square would be an amazing social epicentre for Bødo. Rock concerts, film festivals, ballet and all kinds of performances could take place on this space. With the audience seating on the staircase and looking toward the sea on the large square that reaches the sea level, “Reinventiøn” becomes a setting featuring the harbour, the best gift to the centre of Bodø, not a protagonist, but a support to maximize the potential of Nerbyen.The square is bridged by the library. This function benefits of double exposition to the sun, thus offering high interior comfort and space quality.The tree functions meet on the very crossing point between podium and bridge, where foyer, entrances from both, city and marina sides, come together, giving birth to the “Reinventiøn foyer”, real cultural climax of the city, a mixing space that would dignify the actual and future cultural venue of Bodø.The shot of “metropolitan” taste offered by this spot ( keeping in mind the size and identity of Bodø), is amplified by the perception Halogalandsgata, the street crossing the complex. Through its center runs a high-rise technical zone that incorporates the hall stagetower and the reverberation chamber of the concert Hall.By joining the public areas reserved for the two individual auditoria, we create a 3-dimensional "mixing foyer”, between them that will be an experience by itself. Reshuffling the unexpected level differences, this continuous in-between-building organizes the two flow and also turns the sum of visitors in a larger civic collective.Halogalandsgata will be an unexpected “actor” of Reinventiøn; providing entrances to underground parking, loading areas on street level, vip and drop off entrance, this spot of the city will be perceived from inside the building through a continuous sequence of visual connections between inner spaces and outside traffic.A neglected function like a loading dock becomes an architectural space, because integrating part of the life of the complex. The bigger scale of the combined building eliminates waste with one system of elevators/escalators that serves all functions. It also creates diverse surfaces that are not mere dependencies of the two halls, but that can be used as "rooms for diverse functions such as, banqueting, civic events, conferences, books presentations, etc.
External events on the sloping connected plazas become the extension of the internal program of the complex.The plazas become an amazing urban ground of experimentation; a project into the project, without building another project. A landscape, where all cultural inventions and music performances will happen.A place looking onto the marina and the city centre, extending the marina, where Bodø’s and all Norwegian people will perform their REINVENTIØN. © NAUTA architecture & research