Rodeo Architects, together with Rebuilding, OPAK and HLA, was invited to a parallel assignment to propose a new masterplan for Marienlyst in Oslo as a part of the process surrounding the relocation of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from the area. The proposal was presented to the client in September 2017, and made public in October.
The masterplan proposal suggests;
1) laying down an urban grid that connects to the surrounding urban fabric and expands on this with public spaces;
2) making a central park as the most important feature in the area, as a structuring element that joins public spaces and public programs. The park opens up to the North and South, connecting Blindern to Majorstuen;
3) establishing three distinct zones of development within the area, to be subdivided into blocks with distinct typological features that mirror the surroundings and cater for different needs. Importantly, the building blocks open up to the surrounding areas to ensure that New Marienlyst does not become an island, but an integrated part of the existing urban fabric; and
4) utilizing the site’s natural features. The proposal focuses on green living and car free surroundings. The old Broadcasting building is kept visible from the South, and is sought integrated as a natural part of the new context, transforming it programmatically to a hotel with shared services and amenities that are useful to the university and the local neighbourhood – and can serve as a magnet, attracting people from the rest of the city and region.