bergen OPEN WATER CITY

The fall urban space studio aims to participate in Bergen’s ongoing waterfront redevelopment process surrounding Byfjorden (fig.1). In recognition of the interrelationship and interdependence between the city and the fjord, the studio considers that the redevelopment of city’s waterfront necessitates the re-evaluation of the city-fjord relationship. As such, focus is placed on the contemporary role and identity of Byfjorden as a primal urban space, and furthermore on what role can urban space play in negotiating accessibility within the waterfront development areas. In doing so, the studio will look to tap into the ongoing discussions, explore the current positions/visions and develop urban strategies that contribute to the discourse on the future of Bergen’s waterfront.

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visual structure 5 _ fleirtall strukturar [13.08 - 19.08]

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urban[isms] _ a working glossary for the design of urban space [29.08 - 02.09]

As an introduction to the study of urban space we will take on the production of a collective core glossary via reading, mining and discussing terms and concepts primarily found within this semester’s texts. This collection of terms and concepts is not meant as an all encompassing glossary but as a first encounter, a beginning, that makes one familiar to the various topics, figures, theories and discussions that are out there. And serve as collective points of reference for future work.

SPORTS SWIMMING 1948
volume of the French dictionary Nouveau Larousse Universel

view course outline + glossary (rough draft)

some reference projects

A list of reference projects derived from a series of mini lectures on urban waterfront development and public space. It includes a number of urban waterfront developments throughout the world, as well as diverse public space projects that range from the temporary to the permanent and from the micro to the macro scale.

sugar beach by claude cormier + associes
toronto, canada, 2008-2010

view a list of reference projects

"hvordan skaper vi en god by?"

"how do we make a good city?

day symposium at USF verftet

nordnesness _ participatory approaches to urban space [05.09 - 16.09]

A two week field course that explores participatory approaches to the development of public space. A neighbourhood is as much composed of buildings and public spaces as of its inhabitants, their passions, their habits, their activities.

Students will interact with the people in the Nordnes neighbourhood of Bergen with the goal of understanding, coordinating and promoting the latent capital that is embedded in the neighborhood's inhabitants. Focus is placed on using the passions, habits and activities of the inhabitants to develop a series of networked public space. The final projects will form part of the Park(ing) Day event series organized by the local art center.

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urban typologies archip workshop | prague study trip _ phase 1 [19.09 – 23.09]

A 5-day study of significant urban typologies which exemplify Prague's contemporary urbanity. Covering a diverse range of areas throughout the city, this study highlights important urban situations anchored on significant buildings and open spaces.

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urban form[s] #1:prague waterfront forms | prague study trip _ phase 2 [26.09 - 30.09]

A 5-day urban sketching course, on site in Prague, which introduces various aspects of simplified urban architectural representations and understandings of selected waterfront areas in the city.

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urban form[s] #2-4: bergen urban waterfronts [03.10 - 21.10]

The APP/DAV Urban Form(s) course is a condensed, introductory course divided into three (3) overlapping, precise pedagogical segments, consisting of one week each.

#02 seeks the production of architectural material via quick, subjective analogue assessment(s) of urban waterfront situations, supplemented by textual descriptions.

#03 seeks the production of further architectural material, via fast, subjective digital assessments of selected urban waterfront situations, likewise supplemented by textual descriptions.

#04 seeks the production of simplified, mini (1:1000) scale models of selected situations from the two previous courses. The models are to be manufactured as 3D plaster casts. More precise textual descriptions are expected to supplement this part.

view course outline + individual student work

Some of the learning outcome(s) from this course will overlap into the subsequent segments from the urban sketching course in Prague (Urban Form(s) #01)

casting workshop from urban form[s] #4 [17.10 - 20.10]

A 3-day plaster casting workshop which forms part of the urban form(s) course, led by architect Gjøran Dørheim.

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2-part lecture _ history of bergen's urban development

A 2-part lecture on the history of Bergen's urban development by Hans-Jacob Roald Senior Architect at Bergen Kommune, Department of urban development, climate and environmental affairs and Associate Professor, Høgskolen i Bergen

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10 takes _ a catalogue of public spaces along the bergen waterfront [24.10 - 20.12]

10 takes is the autumn semester's concluding course. It focuses on the design of urban public space and aims to build on the various material and knowledge gathered throughout the semester.

Shifts in economy and industry have come to liberate attractive post-industrial areas along waterfront areas throughout Norway and open them up towards new development. In Bergen, this new development strategy appears almost random. Instead of an overall vision for the entire waterfront (as in Oslo), the shoreline is developing in bits and pieces, with singular projects and small master plans slowly but surely surfacing. The lack of an overall master plan opens up for new challenges, but also opportunities. As the waterfront develops in an acupunctural way, it becomes critical to ensure public spaces of high quality both in areas that have to a large extent been privatized, or in the areas that are in transition and remain open for new thinking.

By selecting 10 different sites along the Bergen waterfront we will challenge and explore the city’s relationship with the water and explore what a good public space can be. Some of the sites will already have development; some are in transition while others are dormant. Some interventions/ projects will be in the xs scale while others can be of a larger scale and strategy. Together the 10 projects will form a collective statement / catalogue about what the waterfront in Bergen could be and the key role public space can play in its manifestation.