Location Nedre Bekkelaget, Oslo, Norway Client/operator Port of Oslo NO – 0103 Oslo www.oslohavn.no/en Architect bar bakke landskapsarkitekter as NO – 0164 Oslo www.barbakke.no Public participation process in collaboration with Léva Urban Design NO – 4014 Stavanger www.leva-urbandesign.no Parkour design Mikkel Rugaard Studio & Works DK – 2200 Copenhagen www.mikkelrugaard.com Author bar bakke landskapsarkitekter as Photos Tove Lauluten www.tovelauluten.no Official opening June 2019 Construction costs NOK 35 million (EUR 33.8 million)
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DEMOCRATIZATION OF THE CITY’S WATERFRONT BEKKELAGET HARBOUR BATH IN OSLO Bekkelaget harbour bath is a harmonious composition of green playscapes, bathing facilities, hilltops and groves just a short biking distance from the centre of Oslo. The project has remedied the problematic coexistence of residential neighbourhoods with the adjacent, busy dockland activities by establishing a rich and openly accessible park between them. The bar bakke landscape practice has made it possible through collaborative planning processes, public participation in collaboration with Léva Urban Design, and intelligent design choices. The municipality of Oslo seized a historic opportunity when launching the concept of the “Fjord City” in the early 2000’s. The programme entails that the docklands will make way for modern urban development, with new residential areas, offices and public spaces, opening the city up towards the fjord. While the Fjord City ends geographically just north of Bekkelaget harbour bath, the vision of restoring public access to the city’s waterfront persists and continues to widen beyond these
borders. Initially, the plan was to simply establish a visual buffer zone between residents and the harbour area. But after an extensive partici patory process, empowering nearby residents to take part in shaping their local environment, the size of and ambitions for the park began to grow. People’s wishes for open, green recreational areas, sports facilities, a parkour gym and a BMX track were all included in the design. Soon, the buffer zone grew to become a large public park, its main attraction being an eye-catching diving platform painted in Oslo sb 4/2021
