Oslo

Two surfaces that meet at the harbor fort to mark a landing for cruise boats.

surface space

Oslo, Norway.

The competition for Akershaustrada, a cruise boat landing area amidst working docklands below the castle, asked for proposals that would foster a feeling of arriving in the city-proper the moment of stepping off the boat.

We proposed to pull the floor of the city, like a red carpet, out to the landing area. The grid (warp) of the stone surface seems to tuck underneath the harbor fortress, making the stone castle appear as a piece of urban furniture.

By tracing the city map, we found that the castle had an echo, visible in two contrasting figures extending to the sea. We proposed a second surface as a large wooden deck to wrap the second figure; the hagesmack (bib, as in baby) for the leisure of citizens of Oslo, in contrast to the bugulv (stone floor) used for receiving visitors. After submitting, we discovered that we were unintentional poets: our Danish translation into Norwegian, Bugulv oder Hagesmack actually read “Taste of Garden”.