TOLLBODSTRANDEN APARTMENTS in Tromsø, Norway by Stinessen Arkitektur

Article source: Stinessen Arkitektur

The setting is a challenging site with a protected waterfront towards west and a protected historical building environment on the west and north side, industrial area/ship yard towards the east while positioned in the in nerharb our towards the south.

Image Courtesy © Siggen Stinessen

• Architects: Stinessen Arkitektur
• Project: TOLLBODSTRANDEN APARTMENTS
• Location: Tromsø, Norway
  
• Photography: Siggen Stinessen

Image Courtesy © Siggen Stinessen

The regulatory restrictions went as far as to dictated the tone of color on the west facade and declined the use of copper originally in tended used on the east facade.

Our analysis of the historical buildings led to some main elements that would be pursued to link the new building to its close neighbourhood with out trying to copy traditional design:

• The use of wood as main exterior material.
• When studied closely the facades of the historic buildings appears fairly closed, with few window openings and thus few reflecting surfaces.
• Close study also reveals that all window are in facts lightly different in form and size and positioned at slightly different levels.
• The facade of the adjacent warehouse (now Polar Museum) is stretched out long, although also with visible divisions/sections.

Image Courtesy © Siggen Stinessen

Image Courtesy © Siggen Stinessen

The east facade of the building was designed to answer to the contrasting industrial area on that side of the building and to provide sheltered balconies and unobstructed views from the main bedroom out a cross the harbor. The north and south facades feature glass cladding as a neutral in between mirroring the surroundings with protruding cantilivered balconie sunder lining the dramatic position on the inner harb our towards the south. The west facade faces the protected waterfront, the historic buildings and the city center of Tromsø. The individuality of the apartments are visible through the linear movement of the windows varying in size, form and position, but set in a designed pattern. One of the main challenges with designing an apartment building in a historic building environment is the modern demand for large glass areas and there sulting refletive facades. The conceptual design in this case divided the length of the facade in to sections that were offset and providing views and light also in the north-south direction. The use of wooden slats as the outer most layer partially shelter from transparency and honours the closed historic facade of the adjacent museum. To answer to both the color requirements on the site and to minimize the need for regular maintenance the slats were made from oaktreated with ironsulfate (which is a historic and traditional treatment for wood in Norway), that reacts with the tannic acid in the oak transforming its natural color nearly in to black. In an effort to create a fluentcon text from the roof terraces via the facades to the surface of the pier the facade is angled and curved, perhaps with the inspiration of sails or waves..

Image Courtesy © Siggen Stinessen

Image Courtesy © Siggen Stinessen

The ground floor of the building was designed as an open plan offices pace inside the curvature of the exterior wall focusing the interior space towards the waterfront and the museum. The upper floors houses a total of 27 apartments, all uniquely designed based on their position on the main floor plan, size, room requirements and individual views. Each apartment is fitted with kitchens and ward robe solutions from Varenna/Poliform and bath room interiors from DuravitStarck. Lighting systems from Kreon are applied through out the building.

Image Courtesy © Siggen Stinessen

Image Courtesy © Siggen Stinessen

Tags: Norway, Tromsø

Categories: Apartments, Building

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