"Tromsø Skansen: the last beach" by Vlad Lyakhov

TromsĂ¸ Skansen: The last beach

Vyacheslav (Vlad) Lyakhov Master thesis AHO (Oslo School of Architecture and Design) Supervisors: Luis Callejas, Erik Langdalen

The site: Tromsø, Tromsøya island

Location: Tromsø is a city in Northern Norway, above the Arctic Circle. Permanently hosting a population of 75.000 people, Tromso is also a University City, a scientifical and political centre, a popular touristic place and a certain destination of the Hurtigruten route. Located on an Island and surrounded by fjord and mountains, Tromsø presents a very different type of urbanity then most of other European cities. Most of activities and lifestyle in Tromsø are defined by the nature, landscape and climate. In opposition to bigger cities and megapolises, Tromsø rather tends to more rural, dispersed life-style and binds to outdoor activity. Scandinavia

Tromsøya Island

The site: Tromsø, Tromsøya island

One illustration: on weekends in a good weather day the locals could mainly be met not in the main shopping pedestrian street Storgata, but rather in Tromsømarka – the green belt area with “Lysløypa” - ski track along the island. Therefore Tromsø is at the same time: a winter city and a coastline city; a rural nature-oriented city and a big educational, scientific and political centre. It is on one hand very distant from any other big cities and on the other is itself the capital of the North, gateway to Arctic/North Pole. A modern fast developing city and an ancient city with deep historical roots at the same time.

Scandinavia

Lysløypa Tromsøya Island

Foto: www.iabr.nl

in 1000 people: Local population

73500

in 1000 people:

Local population

73500

Students

12000

in 1000 people: Local population

73500

Students

12000

Visitors (2016)*

667300

in 1000 people: Local population

73500

Students

12000

Visitors (2016)*

667300

Potential users (Demographics) Despite the fact that TromsĂ¸ has a comparativelly small population (in terms of European cities), it is still a big educational, political, scientific and touristic centre, which means that apart from local population it has a very significant amount of students and visitors.

* Visitors to TromsĂ¸ in 2016 by hotel/accomodation booking. source: http://www.statistikknett.no/

Tromsø, Urban borders

Today Tromsø occupies the whole Tromsøya island, the surrounding bigger islands and a big part of mainland, but it used to be much smaller. Tromsø got its City status -1794, and at that moment its urban borders used to look the following way, as on the map on the left hand side.

View towards Tromsø - 1878

Tromsø Urban borders - 1794

Tromsø, Urban borders in time

Historically Tromsø developped around two main points - the Skansen fortress and the main church - Tromsø Domkirke. These two - Skansen and the church used to be the main landmarks, two pillars that framed Tromsø. During all the city´s history they used to be main centres for activities. As the area of the Domkirke was more like a cultural/religious place, the Skansen area used to be more an industrial/working zone, centre of economical and business life.

1794

TromsĂ¸, Urban borders in time

1842

TromsĂ¸, Urban borders in time

1915

TromsĂ¸, Urban borders in time

1955

Tromsø, Urban borders in time

1794

1842 1842

1915 1915

1955 1955

Tromsø Domkirke Skansen Tromsø Tromsø Domkirke Tromsø Skansen

1970 1970

Tromsø, Urban borders in time

Tromsø Skansen

Skansen is one of the oldest parts of Tromsø. We know that the fortress has been here at least since the XIII century, in 1250-s, during the reign of King Håkon Håkonsson. After Skansen lost its fortificational functions it functioned mainly as the Toll, the customs. The area was also the main harbour of Tromsø and most of fishing activities, trade etc. used to take place here. Later the area turned into industrial zone: wharf and ship dock. Our days the wharf has been removed further south of island, so that the old wharf practically lost its functions, became semi-abandoned and slightly decaying at the moment.

Foto: http://www.kirkeakademiene.no/

Tromsø domkirke

1794

1842 1842

1915 1915

1955 1955

Tromsø Domkirke Skansen Tromsø Tromsø Domkirke Tromsø Skansen

1970 1970

Today we can still see the old wharf on the site. It is quite out-of-date and is not being used much except for some older and smaller ships reparation.

Situation: the fortress and the wharf

Tromsø Urban Fabrique

Urban fabrique falling apart Due to quite an unsystematic development, the site became closedoff from the rest of the city fabrique, main accesses, sightlines and human flow. The continuity of the coastline promenade brakes, making one to walk around through the backyards of the buildings, leading out from the waterfront. The development hasn´t been following one common logics, resulting the urban fabrique falling apart in this area and a situation where the oldest part of the town became isolated. So that two main landmarks, framing Tromsø´s centre became torn apart.

TromsĂ¸ Urban Fabrique

Nolli map

TromsĂ¸ Urban Fabrique

Leftover spaces

TromsĂ¸ Urban Fabrique

Sightlines

TromsĂ¸ Urban Fabrique

Waterfront accesses

Spaces/squares and streets The city center of Tromsø has four main long streets, along which most of the life takes place. The streets suitable for walking along. Three streets (Storgata, Grønnegata, one composite curvy street Strandgata-Sjøgata-Havnegata-Skippergata) and the harbour promenade which follows the coast.

Main streets

Spaces/squares and streets Main bigger squares/parks and public spaces can also be found here. They are Strandtorget, Kirkeparken, Roald Amundsens plass, Stortorget/Erling Bangsunds plass, Skansen, Fridtjof Nansens plass etc.

Main squares and public spaces

Spaces/squares and streets Most of the squares and public spaces are tight up together and connected to each other by at least 1-2 of the main streets. Except for the Skansen area (and in a way Fridtjof Nansens plass). The harbour promenade is oriented towards the Skansen, but suddenly stops not reaching it, by the Polar Museum. This situation leads to disconnection of the area from the main human-flow axis, falls out from thecoastline walk and in a way causes siteÂ´s abandonment.

Polar Museum, a place where harbour-pomenade stops

Main squares and public spaces

TromsĂ¸: land taken from the sea During cityÂ´s development, the land has been taken from the sea. Sometimes quite chatocially and unsystematically. For years TromsĂ¸ expanded its coastline, reclaimed the land, so that in the whole centre there is no natural coastline left, except for a small stripe of a natural beach by the Skansen area. So once the first beach became the last beach.

The last beach

Original coastlline

Tromsø: land taken from the sea During city´s development, the land has been taken from the sea. Sometimes quite chatocially and unsystematically. For years Tromsø expanded its coastline, reclaimed the land, so that in the whole centre there is no natural coastline left, except for a small stripe of a natural beach by the Skansen area. So once the first beach became the last beach. Today the site consists of natural terrain and the attached reclaimed land, partly filled, partly standing on platforms.

The last beach

Original coastlline

TromsĂ¸: land taken from the sea The â&#x20AC;&#x153;attachedâ&#x20AC;? artificial land is mainly flat and of course facing the sea. The taken land is the lowest part of the island, and what is interesting,the Sea might take it back again: the original coastline more or less corresponds with the future flood-line. The reclaimed land has avarege elevation of 2 meters above sea-level, and the prognosys for the year 2050 water-level rise might be up to 238 cm at its extreme. So once taken from the sea, back to the sea it might go.

source: http://www.kartverket.no/sehavniva/

Future possible flood map

Painting by Kjell Lindberg, imagening the original situation of the fortress

Future possible flood map

The site: TromsĂ¸ Skansen

The site

Protected buildings Protected areas

Heritage buildings and sites

AGGERSBORG, DK

EXEHOLM, DK

FYRKAT, DK

NØRRE, DK

OOST-SOUBORG, NL

TRELLEBORG, DK

Painting by Kjell Lindberg, imagening the original situation of the fortress

It´s hard to believe, but the skansen-fortress has never passed through a serious archeological research and it´s age is not known exactly. The only reliable evidence (an arrow-head) shows that it is at least from 1250s. But it is also believed that it might be from the viking age and dated up by X century. Typologically Tromsø Skansen is very close to vikingring-type of fortresses of the viking age.

VALLØ BORGRING, DK

TRELLEBORGEN, SE

Some examples of Trelleborg/Vikingring-type fortresses in Europe

TROMSØ SKANSEN, NO

Design Concept Statement: To bring the important part of TromsĂ¸ back to the city Objectives: Giving value to the historical/heritage site, instead of applying preservation, rather to work with the surrounding space, logistics and programme, establish connections and accesses; design a waterfront public space with historical background, which tights up together the heritage-sites and the industrial area. Reveal the original coast line as a possible tight-up connection for the site. Codewords: -Memory -Water/Sea -Viking age -Heritage -Abandonment -Water level rise -Nature -Awareness -Culture -Ships -Public space -History

Sketches from the design process

Reference projects

Peter Latz Port Rambaud, Lyon, France

LCLA Klaksvik City Center Klaksvik, Færøyene

BIG Maritime Museum Helsingør, Danmark

OMA Garage Center Moscow, Russia

West 8 New Holland Island St. Petersburg, Russia

Jeppe Aagaard Andersen Kronborg Castle Elsingor, Danmark

Artur Hazelius Skansen Stockholm, Sweden

+5 +4

+4 +3 +2

0 +6

+4 +7

+2 +2 +6

+7.5 +7

+2 +1 -1

-3 -1

+6.5 +5.5 +6 +8

+7 +4

+6 +2

F ILL

N GAI T A LOA

S W OAT SE B HE

0 205 0 204

T EN WH

0 203 0 202

+3 +2

+1 0

+2 +1 +2

+1 0 0 +1 +2 +3 +4

0 +2 0

+9 +8 +7 +6 +5

Situation Plan

+4 +3 +2 0

+10

Design concept: Master Plan (zoom in for details)

Design concept: Details

A bridge connects the site to the rest of the city through continuous harbour-promenade Where the waterfront-promenade used to stop (by the Polar Museum) now there is a bridge, giving the continuosity of access in the place and connecting the site to the rest city by the waterfront. On the corner there is a smaller overview platform, so that this spot is not only a transition axis, but also a destination.

Design concept: Details

Opening up the space allowed to increase the natural beach-line for almost up to 100 meters.

Design concept: Details

Ship-dragging slope is retransformed to a sea-level rise indicator with a year-scale written on it and a text asking â&#x20AC;&#x153;When these boats will float again?â&#x20AC;?. It is ment to enforce awareness of the sea-level rise and possible future floods.

Design concept: Details

Floating stage connects the fjord to the landscape. Can be used for concerts, performances or cinema, since located in front of the amphitheater-bench. The platform can be dragged within the little bay, between the site and the molo.

Design concept: Details

A mount on the end tip of the molo frames the site from the sea and gives a loop around itself for a continuous waterfront promenade

Design concept: Details

Small swimming pool with treated water: one might bath outdoors even in the arctic

Design concept: Details

An artificial hill with one of the old heritage houses moved here from the site. Meant to frame the wide open space and to give a sgreen-grass slope, facing south-west. After the flood remains on the surface, representing a a small “fisherman´s island”, keeping the memory of the site´s lost sunctions. The building can be used as a cafe and a visitor centre.

Design concept: Details

Forest of masts. Instead of planting trees it was decided to instal old sail boats and simply masts. A clear vertical rhythm in a wide-open space is supposed to enhance the spatial qualities, and show the vagueness of this landÂ´s status in a long term period. Why this boats are here? Was it once sea? Now its land. Will it be sea again?

Design concept: Details Pavements and surfaces

The main pavement is made from granite plates of size 500*50*30 cm placed on the flattened compressed sand surface. The area for the pavement is flat, which makes it possible to install this pattern without getting gaps or inclinations between the plates. 500cm long 50 cm wide and 30 cm thick plates are possible to transport and install, and durable enough to last long.

The main pathway around the fortress and the accesses from SĂ¸ndre Tollbodgate, Nordre Tollbodgate and Verftsgata is done by small cobblestone pavement, which is meant to underline the historicity of the area, and make the area rather pedestrian, then car-attractive

Rough stone pavement, comparativelly flattened on the surface and edged, separates the historical part around skansen and the more new transformed wharf public space

30 cm wide wooden decks on the platform and 15 cm wide decks on the sitting bench. It is important to use a rather warmer material for sitting, and permeable, so that water and humidity can pass through the gaps between decks.

Design concept: Details

The core of the project is the quay. Facing south-west, well sheltered from the wind and giving the best view towards the fjord and the mountains, this place is recognized as potentially the main public space for the city. Equipped with a 100-meter long bench, appliable for sitting, laying and unversal access.

Combination of sitting steps, walking steps and a ramp, gives universal accessibility to the waterfront. 90 cm wide and 45 cm high sitting steps can accomodate users as individuals, or as bigger groups of people.

The only remaining building from the wharf is an old shipping warehouse with a big industrial-size sliding door.

Climate wheel showing average temperature, daylight length, snow height and wind direction. The dominant wind direction from April til September, the most warm and sunniest time of the year, is NorthNorth-West.

TromsĂ¸ Climate Wheel

Located in the Northern part of the site, the building shelters the public space from the main wind direction and under-the-bridge view

So that the site becomes wind sheltered and well sun exposed.

Remaining building with new plan

The building is proposed to be rebuild into a museum. Since it is facing water from two of its sides it is also proposed to make it an â&#x20AC;&#x153;Art-dockâ&#x20AC;?, with additional shipping functions: a boat can float in through the dam-doors. The dry-dock can be used as exhibition/ festival space when not occupied by a boat.

Sketches from the design process

Spiral ramp system

The floors of the museum are basically a constant spiral-ramp, which gives continuity of walking through the exhibition. Inclination ratio is 1:20 with constant flat segments every 5 and 10 meters, which makes the ramp not only continous but also universally accessible. The main entry to the exhibition space is through stairs, but there is also a possibility of entering through the elevated slope mount, which makes the building totally universally accessible.

The remaining building

Surrounded by water

Museum interior space

After the flood the building can be used as a terminal, since it will preserve the dry access from the city through the mount-ramp/ road and water level rise will not affect its ramping flooring system, which is elevated by minumum 4 meters above sea level. And a boat can still enter the dock from the sea.

Original situation: natural coastline and the circular fortress

Modern situation: city built on the island and reclaimed land

Cleaning up: partly taking away filled land and buildings

Cleaned up site

Adding up elements and moving three buildings

Design situation: cleaned up and completed site

Post-flood situation: water level rises, drowning the reclaimed land

The project deals with the following aspects: I. Urban healing. As it was said, the site falls off from the city fabrique, so the neccessity of establishing logistical, visual and logical connections, pathways and entrances is recognized as fundamental. Urban healing is performed by a) sanitation - removing objectionable buildings, landfills, surfaces and other structures; b) establishing paths and bridges to interconnect the site with the main arteries of the city. II. (re)Introducing program. After establishing the possibilities, it is needed to create reasons. Reasons to come to this place. Already having great potential and natural qualities, it is decided to use those factors to create a waterfront public space, as the main identity and function of the site. The site´s main idea is waterfront, both the existing physical coast, and the coastlines´ variety: its past, present and future conditions. III. Memory/Awareness. The design doesn´t intend to introduce an all-comfortable glossy leisure space, but wants to partly keep the memory of what this place used to be before - a rather rough industrial area, and also to rise awareness of sea level rise, an understanding that this site (and not only this) are in risk of future drowning IV. Restoration/Preservation. Instead of dealing with the historical buildings and sites themselves, it was decided to rather work with the surroundings. The old fortress, old buildings and the beach are not in threat, the problem is to bring users to the site, and establish the context around it. Taking in mind the fact of sea level rise and knowing that the the site sooner or later will drown, the project in a way becomes a restoration project. But not performing restoration right away, but rather preparing the site to imminence, when the hands of nature (whether we want it or not) come and bring the site to original condition. That´s why the project is on one-hand a temporary design project, and on the other - preparation for natural restoration.

Post-flood situation: water level rises, drowning the reclaimed land

V. Adaptation. Some of the design solutions intended to survive the flood and remain even after that, in the same or a different condition/ function. The mount is supposed to keep the memory of the site symbolizing fisherman´s island even when it goes under the water, the building is believed to survive the flood and being retransformed into a terminal, but the Skansen fortress will get its initial condition, as on the painting of Kjell Lindberg.

Post-flood situation: water level rises, drowning the reclaimed land

The End

The End Cordial gratitude for your wisdom, helpfulness and support: Luis Callejas Erik Langdalen Jeppe Aagaard Andersen Kai J. Reaver Eimear Tynan Pavel Fomenko Peter Hemmersam Victoria Cobeña Kristján Breiðfjörð Erling Steenstrup Tom W. Strøm

Special thanks to: Kjell Lindberg, Leonardo da Vinci, Edvard Munch, Gustav Klimt, Sandro Botticelli, Peder Balke, Tōshūsai Sharaku, Piet Mondrian, Vincent van Gogh, Alexandros of Antioch, Auguste Rodin, Edvard Eriksen, Pythokritos of Lindos, Michelangelo Buonarroti For artworks and insiparations

Appendix, essay Nature as a restoration/preservation actor The discipline of preservation can roughly be divided into two major schools, two extremes –the approach of Viollet-le-Duc and John Ruskin. The first school tends towards restoration, a maybe braver intervention, rebuilding, reshaping and changing the initial condition of the object, to “improve” and even complete it. Notre-Dame de Paris was not only cleaned, fixed and restored under Viollet-le-Duc´s supervision but also subject to his creative modification, conceding its authenticity of original Gothic to a rather imaginativeness of Neo-Gothic in the perception of a person from Romanticist/Revival age. As a result, Notre-Dame got elements which had never been there before, flèche-tower, gargoyles and statues that entirely belong to the XIX century, but not the Middle Ages. “To restore an edifice means neither to maintain it, nor to repair it, it means to reestablish it in a finished state, which may in fact never have actually existed at any given time.” (Viollet-le-Duc, ”Restauration”, 1854) John Ruskin´s school promotes conservation and, in a way, stands for the opposite approach – it highly appreciates the authenticity of the object, and aims to protect its current state and prevent its destruction and alteration. “Old buildings are not ours. They belong, partly to those who built them, and partly to the generations of mankind who are to follow us. The dead still have their right in them: That which they labored for . . . we have no right to obliterate.” (John Ruskin, “The Seven Lamps of Architecture,” Chapter 6, 1849) What these very contradictory approaches have in common is the way they face time and nature. In both schools time and nature are objects to deal with, a factor, rather negative and destroying. So according to Viollet le-Duc´s “school” the task is to “save” the building from time, not only by repairing it, but also by adapting, rethinking and enhancing it in the perspective of “new time”, not paying much attention to historicity and authenticity – the “passed time”. Just take the building to the future, removing traces of nature´s negative influence. John Ruskin´s “school” aims to freeze time, keeping the building in the condition of passed time, preventing “new time” to take over and struggling to stop the effects of nature. Nevertheless, both schools approach time in a very different way: not only seeing time as a discrete factor, divided into old/past, contemporary/present and new/future (obviously putting themselves as references), but also trying to evaluate and make preferences, either trying to apply a modern perspective to the past, neglecting the primordially, or dragging the past into modernity. But time is in fact linear and continuous and therefor also believed to be objective. And it is possible to imagine, that time is not only an obstacle in architects´ practice, but is also an actor itself. Particularly, on example from Tromsø Skansen, the nature (and time) don’t only flow forward, but also in some point may bring things backwards. So that the land, once taken from nature, back to the nature goes, restoring the monumental fortification area back to its more original condition like an architect would do, but without subjective decisions. Executes a nonacademic and non-professional restoration, which doesn´t bind to any of the schools, but which is just an overwhelming and unavoidable tectonic force that dictates its will as a matter of fact, and doesn´t submit to competitions or asks for opinions, but it simply comes and fixes the mistakes of human activity. “Parts of the cultural or natural heritage are insigniﬁcant and transient and therefore need to be demolished to facilitate the growth and development of mankind.” (Rem Koolhaas, “Cronocaos,” Log 21, 2011) This approach will definitely not meet much understanding in the sphere of preservation/restoration, and just people interested in history. But what makes it relevant to Le-Duc vs Ruskin confrontation is the same subjective, discrete and evaluative attitude to time, as if development is not connected to heritage, as if the future is not connected to the past. In addition Rem Koolhaas once confessed: “I like the future not the past.” (Rem Koolhaas, “Interview with Charlie Rose,” March 10, 2004) But the time is not exactly so linear and discrete, and history tends to repeat sometimes, making bizarre loops, so that the future might become closer to the past, than to the present. And so the Skansen might be brought back in time… not to the past, but to the future. And probably we cannot prevent it or overcome it, but can only try to prepare for it.

Appendix, exhibition space

Working sketch-model

Preliminary design model

Final model

Appendix, exhibition space

Museum building model Scale 1:250

Appendix 2 Additional materials: Site fotos Historical maps Reference projects Heritage buildings

The site: aerial view

The site: view towards the Skansen fortress

The last beach

Skansen fortress: the rampart with a cannon

Atmopshere of old town

The site: historical buildings

The site: historical atmosphere

The site: the fortress and the wharf situation

The site: two spaces of different qualities meet

The wharf

View from wharf towards the fjord

View from the site

The coast and water are quite clean despite the former industry

Carta Marina by Olaus Magnus, printed in Venezia in 1539

TromsĂ¸ is shown with a symbol of a fortress (even though not authentically looking fortress)

Map of Tromsø of 1875

Map of TromsĂ¸ of 1875, zoom in to the site

View of TromsĂ¸ya from mainland on a lithography of 1878

View of towards city center and TromsĂ¸sund from the island on a photo of 1900

Aerial view of TromsĂ¸ from 1952

Aerial view of TromsĂ¸ from 1952, zoom in

Painting by Kjell Lindberg, imagining the fortress at its initial condition

Structure of the Vollgrav-type forest

Protected heritage buildings on site

Reference projects (put to the same scale with the site)

Peter Latz Port Rambaud, Lyon, France

LCLA Klaksvik City Center Klaksvik, Færøyene

BIG Maritime Museum Helsingør, Danmark

OMA Garage Center Moscow, Russia

West 8 New Holland Island St. Petersburg, Russia

J. Aagaard Andersen Kronborg Castle Elsingor, Danmark

Artur Hazelius Skansen Stockholm, Sweden

120

Peter Latz Port Rambaud, Lyon, France 30

120

LCLA Klaksvik City Center Klaksvik, Færøyene

120

BIG Maritime Museum HelsingĂ¸r, Danmark

120

West 8 New Holland Island St. Petersburg, Russia

120

J. Aagaard Andersen Kronborg Castle Elsingor, Danmark

120

Tromsø: The student city

The population of Tromsø is around 73500 people, which makes it 7th biggest in Norway. Not a very big city in European scale has however one aspect: The University of Tromsø hosts around 12000 students. Some of them stay in Tromsø for long periods, some come for exchange, some to complete their 2-year masters. Anyhow, this gives a huge amount of young and active people, who stay in Tromsø for comparativelly long time, and shifts the Structure of city demography towards.

Local population (1000 people) Students (1000 people)

In red - exclusivelly student related places: University campuses, student housings, student sport centers

UiT - University of Tromsø (The Arctic University of Norway)

Concerts performing: Places that host concerts in Tromsø

Driv Kulturhus Blå Telegrafbukta Domkirke Clarion the Edge Hålogaland teateret Verdensteateret Bardus Bar

Røyksopp live