Kjelsåsveien 161
Oslo, Norway
A transformation of the existing Tandbergs Radio factory located adjacent to Maridalen, an area north of Oslo city-centre. The existing arched structure will be retained and complemented by a series of new residential blocks, with future residents benefitting from close proximity to the woodland of Nordmarka and the rich cultural context of Maridalen. The project comprises 225 residential units in total.
The design is underpinned by a series of careful considerations: integration of an existing iconic structure within a sizable redevelopment; the manner in which new building volumes and landscaped areas relate to neighbouring context; and, given the site’s adjacency to Oslo’s main water reservoir, the careful engineering of surface water run-off.
The founder of Tandberg Radiofabrikk – Vedbjørn Tandberg – was a pioneer of welfare in the workplace, and the factory itself was originally accompanied by a park, while the assembly hall featured a panoramic window overlooking the nearby woodland. These elements are carefully retained and given a new lease of life within the redevelopment, now re-interpreted within a residential context. The large assembly hall itself is given over to shared amenity space for the local residents, a concept developed in tandem with Selvaag’s pioneering programme initiative for new housing, Selvaag+. The scheme is configured in clusters of interjoining blocks which frame two generous landscaped gardens. The retained arched structure occupies a central position on the site’s higher, northern boundary , while the new building volumes step away down the terrain to the south.
